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RICHARD     SPILLANE 

EDITOR  OF  THE  "gALVESTON  TRIBUNE"  AND  ASSOCIATED   PRESS  COR- 
RESPONDENT,   WHO   WAS   CHOSEN    BY    THE    MAYOR    AND   CITIZENS' 
COMMITTEE  TO  SFJZE  ANY  VESSEL  IN   THE  HARBOR   AND  CONVEY 
TO  THE  OUTSIDE  WORLD  THE  NEWS  OF  THE   GREAT    QiSAST  ER 


the  great 
Galveston    Disaster 

CONTAINING   A 

Full  and  Thrilling  Account  of  the  Most  Appalling 
Calamity  of   Modern  Times 

INCLUDING 

VIVID    DESCRIPTIONS    OF    THE    HURRICANE  AND  TERRIBLE 
RUSH  OF  WATERS;  IMMENSE  DESTRUCTION  OF  DWELL- 
INGS,   BUSINESS    HOUSES,    CHURCHES,    AND  LOSS 
OF   THOUSANDS    OF    HUMAN    LIVES 

THRILLING    TALES    OF    HEROIC    DEEDS;     PANIC-STRICKEN 

MULTITUDES  AND  HEART-RENDING  SCENES  OF  AGONY  ; 

FRANTIC  P:FF0RTS  TO  ESCAPE  A  HORRIBLE  FATE; 

SEPARATION  OF  LOVED  ONES,  ETC.,  ETC. 

Narrow   Escapes  from  the  Jaws  of   Death 

TERRIBLE     SUFFERINGS     OF    THE     SURVIVORS;      VANDALS 

PLUNDERING    BODIES    OF    THE    DEAD;     WONDERFUL 

EXHIBITIONS  OF  POPULAR  SYMPATHY;     MILLIONS 

OF  DOLLARS    SENT  FOR  THE  RELIEF  OF 

THE    STRICKEN    SUFFERERS 

BY    PAUb    liESTEt^ 

Author  of  "  Life  in  the  Southwest,"  Etc.,  Etc. 

With  an   Introduction   by 

RICHARD    SPILLANE 

Editor  "  Galveston  Tribune"  and  Associated  Press  Correspondent 


PROFUSELY     EMBELLISHED     WITH     PHOTOGRAPHS    TAKEN 
IMMEDIATELY     AFTER     THE     DISASTER 


ENTERE1  ACCORDING  TO  ACT  OF  CONGREBS,  IN  THE  YEAR  1900,  BY 

HORACE    C.     FRY 

N    THE    OFFICE    OF    THE    LIBRARIAN    OF    CONGRESS,    AT    WASHINGTON.    D.    ©■ 


n^  A^' 


PREFACE. 


THOUSANDS  of  men,  women  and  children  swept  to  sudden 
death.  Millions  of  dollars  worth  of  property  destroyed. 
Scenes  of  suffering-  and  desolation  that  beggar  description. 
Heroic  efforts  to  save  human  life.  The  world  shocked  by  the 
appalling  news.  Such  is  the  thrilling  ctory  of  the  Galveston 
flood,  and  in  this  volume  it  is  told  with  wonderful  power  and  effect. 

There  have  been  many  disasters  by  storm  and  flood  in  modern 
times,  but  none  to  equal  this.  In  the  brief  space  of  twelve  hours 
more  persons  lost  their  lives  than  were  killed  during  a  year  of  the 
war  between  the  British  and  the  Boers  or  during  a  year  and  a  half 
of  our  war  in  the  Philippines. 

The  calamity  came  suddenly.  Galveston  was  not  aware  of 
its  impending  fate.  News  of  an  approaching  cyclone  produced 
no  alarm.  Suddenly  word  was  sent  that  the  hurricane  was  bend- 
ing from  its  usual  course  and  might  strike  the  city.  Even  then 
there  was  no  sudden  fear,  no  hurrying  to  escape,  no  thought  of 
swift  destruction.  In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  the 
city  waked  up  to  the  awful  fact  that  it  was  to  be  engulfed  by  a 
tidal  wave,  and  buried  in  the  flood  of  waters. 

The  news  of  the  overwhelming  disaster  came  as  a  shock  to 
people  everywhere.  Bulletin  boards  in  all  our  cities  were  sur- 
rounded by  eager  crowds  to  obtain  the  latest  reports.  Many  who 
had  friends  in  the  stricken  city  were  kept  in  suspense  respecting 
their  fate.  With  bated  breath  was  the  terrible  calamity  talked 
about,  and  in  every  part  of  our  country  committees  of  relief  were 
immediately  formed.  The  magnitude  of  the  disaster  grew  from 
day  to  day.  Every  fresh  report  added  to  the  intelligence  already 
received,  and  it  was  made  clear  that  a  large  part  of  the  city  of 
Galveston,  with  its  inhabitants,  had  been  swept  out  of  existence. 

This  work  furnishes  a  striking  description  of  a  great  city  of 
the  dead.     It  depicts  the  terrible  scenes  that  followed  the  calamity, 

ill 


iv  PREFACE. 

the  fate  that  overtook  the  victims,  and  the  agony  of  the  living.  It 
tells  of  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  survivors  to  save  their  homes  and 
families,  and  recover  from  the  terrible  blow. 

It  tells  of  a  thousand  of  the  dead  towed  out  and  buried  at  sea 
and  of  many  hundreds  cremated  on  shore  ;  of  the  vandals  who 
rushed  in  to  strip  lifeless  bodies,  unterrified  by  the  scenes  of  hor- 
ror on  every  hand ;  of  United  States  soldiers  shooting  the  robbers 
on  sight  and  putting  an  end  to  their  horrible  sacrilege. 

The  story  of  the  appalling  horror,  the  oncoming  of  the 
cyclone,  the  rising  waters  threatening  the  city,  the  inhabitants 
overtaken  by  the  flood  and  cut  off  from  escape,  thousands  hurried 
to  death,  chaos  everywhere,  recovery  of  bodies  ravaged  by  thieves, 
all  this  is  vividly  told  in  this  volume. 

The  work  contains  thrilling  stories  by  eye-witnesses.  In  this 
volume  the  survivors  speak  for  themselves.  They  tell  of  the  sud- 
den danger  that  paralyzed  thousands  and  made  them  helpless 
against  the  onslaught  of  the  tempest. 

They  tell  of  separation  from  those  who  were  attempting  to 
afford  relief  and  how  futile  all  efforts  were  against  the  fury  of  the 
waves.  They  tell  how  their  homes  and  places  of  business,  their  hos- 
pitals, school-houses  and  churches  were  swept  away  as  in  a  moment. 

There  were  splendid  examples  of  courage  and  heroism.  The 
graphic  description  of  the  great  disaster  contained  in  this  book 
thrills  the  reader.  Amidst  the  alarm,  the  threatening  death,  the 
overwhelming  flood,  he  sees  how  nobly  men  struggled  to  save  their 
families  and  their  fortunes.  He  seems  to  ride  on  the  crest  of  the 
waves  and  witness  with  his  own  eyes  the  terrible  traged3^ 

Our  Government  at  Washington  was  quick  to  come  to  the 
rescue.  It  ordered  tents  to  be  provided  and  issued  rations  by  the 
tens  of  thousands  for  the  survivors.  The  chords  of  S3mipath3^ 
which  make  all  men  akin  vibrated  through  every  part  of  the  civil- 
ized world. 

Thousands  of  helping  hands  were  stretched  out  toward  Gal- 
veston. Millions  of  dollars  were  given  for  the  relief  of  the  suf- 
ferers. This  volume  is  a  complete  and  authentic  account  of  the 
great  calamity  told  by  the  survi\'ors. 


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BY   RICHARD   SPIIvLANE. 


[RICHARD  SPILLANE,  editor  of  the  "Galveston  Tribune."  was  chosen 
by  the  Mayor  and  Citizens'  Committee  to  seize  any  vessel  in  tlie  harbor  and 
make  his  way  as  best  he  could  to  such  point  as  he  could  reach,  so  as  to  get 
in  touch  with  the  outside  world,  tell  the  story  of  the  tragedy  and  appeal  to 
mankind  for  help.  He  crossed  the  bay  during  a  squall,  the  little  boat  in 
which  he  sailed  being  in  imminent  dan;^er  of  swamping,  having  been  stove  in 
during  the  hurricane.  He  reached  Texas  City  after  a  perilous  trip,  then 
made  his  way  over  the  flooded  prairie  to  Lamarque,  where  he  found  a  rail 
road  hand  car.  With  this  h md-car  he  managed  to  reach  League  Cit)-,  where 
he  met  a  train  coming  from  Houston  to  learn  what  fate  had  befallen  Galves- 
ton. On  this  train  he  reached  Houston,  where  after  sending  messaores  to 
President  McKinley  and  Governor  Sayers,  he  gave  the  news  in  detail  to  the 
newspapers  of  the  nation.] 

TN  THE  world's  great  tragedies,  that  of  Galveston  stand? 
*  remarkable.  In  no  other  case  in  history  was  a  disaster  met 
with  such  courage  and  fortittide  ;  in  no  other  case  in  histoiy 
were  the  people  of  the  whole  world  so  responsive  to  the  call  for 
help  for  the  helpless. 

There  prevails  a  belief  that  Galveston  is  subject  to  severe 
storms.  That  is  a  mistake.  There  have  been  heavy  blows,  and 
there  have  been  times  when  the  waters  of  the  bay  and  the  Gulf 
met  in  the  city's  streets,  btit  the  storm  of  September  8,  1900,  is 
withotit  parallel.  The  best  proof  of  this  statement  is  furnished 
by  the  old  Spanish  charts  of  three  hundred  years  ago.  They  con- 
tain as  landmarks  of  Galveston  Island  the  sign  of  three  great 
trees — oaks — that  stood  three  htindred  years  ago  in  what  is  known 
as  Lafitte's  grove,  twelve  miles  down  Galveston  Island  from  the 
city.  These  oaks  withstood  the  storms  of  three  centuries.  The> 
were  felled  by  the  fury  of  the  storm  of  September  8. 


yi  INTRODUCTION. 

The  storm  of  September  8tli  did  not,  as  has  been  supposed, 
come  upon  the  city  without  warning.  The  same  storm,  less 
ferocious  perhaps,  had  swept  along  the  South  Atlantic  coast 
several  days  before.  It  had  its  origin  in  that  breeding  place  of 
hurricanes,  the  West  Indies,  and,  after  swirling  along  the  Florida 
and  Carolina  shores,  doubled  on  its  tracks,  entered  the  Gulf, 
came  racing  westward  and  developing  greater  strength  with  each 
hour,  and  centered  all  its  energies  upon  the  Texas  coast  near 
Galveston. 

On  September  7th  there  was  official  warning  of  the  approach 
of  a  severe  storm,  but  no  one  expected   such   a  tempest  as  was 
destined  to  devastate  the  city.     vSuch   warning  as  was  given  was 
rather  addressed  to  mariners  about  to  go  to  sea  than  to  those  liv 
ing  on  shore. 

Simultaneously  with  the  approach  of  the  hurricane  was  a 
great  wind  from  the  north,  known  locally  as  a  "Norther."  This 
developed  at  Galveston  about  2  A.  M.,  on  September  8th.  The 
cipproaching  hurricane  from  the  east  and  southeast  had  been 
driving  a  great  wall  of  water  toward  the  shore  at  Galveston.  The 
tremendous  wind  storm  from  the  north  acted  as  a  counter  force 
or  check  to  the  hurricane  element. 

The  north  wind  blew  the  water  from  Galveston  Bay  on  the 
one  side  of  the  cit}^  and  the  storm  in  the  Gulf  hurled  its  battal- 
ions of  waves  upon  the  beach  side  of  the  city. 

Early  in  the  day  the  battle  between  these  two  contending 
forces  offered  a  magnificent  spectacle  to  a  student  of  scenery  of 
nature.  As  long  as  the  north  wind  held  strong  the  city  was  safe. 
While  the  winds  dashed  great  volumes  of  water  over  the  wharves 
and  flooded  some  streets  in  the  business  portion  of  the  city  and 
the  waters  of  the  Gulf  on  the  other  side  of  the  city  encroached 
upon  the  streets  near  the  beach  there  was  no  particular  fear  of 
serious  consequences,  but  about  noon  the  barometer,  which  had 
been  very  low,  suddenly  began  to  drop  at  a  rate  that  presaged  a 
storm  of  tremendous  violence. 

Following  this  came  the  warning  that  the  wind  would,  before 
many  hours,  change  from   the  north   to  the  southeast  and  to  the 


INTRODUCTION.  vil 

fury  of  the  wall  of  water  being  driven  upon  Galveston  by  the 
approaching  hurricane  would  be  added  all  the  tremendous  force 
of  the  wind  that  had  previously  acted  as  a  partial  check  to  the 
Gulf  storm. 

To  those  who  previously  had  no  fear,  the  certainty  that  the 
wind  would  change  came  as  the  first  real  note  of  warning.  With 
the  first  shifting  of  the  wind  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  swept  over 
the  cit3\  Houses  near  the  beach  began  to  crumble  and  collapse, 
their  timbers  being  picked  up  by  the  wind  and  waves  and  thrown 
in  a  long  line  of  battering  rams  against  the  structures.  Men, 
women  and  children  fled  from  their  homes  and  sought  safety  in 
higher  portions  of  the  city,  or  in  buildings  more  strongly  built. 
Some  were  taken  out  in  boats,  some  in  wagons,  some  waded 
through  the  waters,  but  the  flood  rose  so  rapidly  that  the  approach 
of  night  found  many  hundreds  battling  in  the  waters,  unable  to 
reach  places  of  safety.      The  air  was  full  of  missiles. 

The  wind  tore  slates  from  roofs  and  carried  them  along  like 
wafers.  A  person  struck  by  one  of  these,  driven  Avith  the  fearful 
violence  of  the  storm,  was  certain  to  be  maimed,  if  not  killed  out- 
right. The  waves,  with  each  succeeding  sweep  of  the  in-rushing 
tide,  brought  a  greater  volume  of  wreckage  as  house  after  house 
toppled  and  fell  into  the  waters.  So  tremendous  was  the  roar  of 
the  storm  that  all  other  sounds  were  dwarfed  and  drowned.  Dur- 
ing the  eight  hours  from  4  P.  M.  until  midnight,  the  hurricane 
raged  with  a  fury  greater  than  words  can  describe.  What  height 
the  winds  reached  will  never  be  known.  The  wind  gauge  at  the 
weather  bureau  recorded  an  average  of  84  miles  an  hour  for  five 
consecutive  minutes,  and  then  the  instruments  were  carried  away. 
That  was  before  the  storm  had  become  really  serious.  The  belief, 
as  expressed  by  the  observer,  that  the  wind  averaged  between  1 10 
and  120  miles  an  hour,  is  as  good  information  as  is  obtainable. 

Nothing  so  exemplified  the  impotency  of  man  as  the  storm. 
Massive  buildings  were  crushed  like  egg  shells,  great  timbers 
were  carried  through  the  air  as  though  they  were  of  no  weight, 
and  the  winds  and  the  waves  swept  everything  before  them  until 
their  appetite  for  destruction  was  satiated  and  their  force  spent. 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

A  remarkable  feature  about  the  storm  is  the  disparity  in  the 
depth  of  water  in  different  portions  of  the  city,  and  the  undoubted 
fact  that  the  waters  subsided  on  the  north  side  of  the  city  hours 
before  they  did  on  the  south  side. 

These  peculiarities  are  explained  by  the  topography  of  the 
island.  Broadway,  which  marks  the  center,  or  middle  of  the  city, 
proper,  is  on  the  ridge,  from  which  the  land  slopes  on  one  side^ 
toward  the  bay  and  on  the  other,  toward  the  Gulf.  The  waters 
from  the  Gulf  passed  over  this  ridge  and  swept  on  toward  the  bay 
during  the  most  furious  stages  of  the  storm,  but  the  full  energie;; 
of  wind  and  water  were  directed  upon  that  portion  of  the  city 
between  the  Gulf  and  the  Broadway  Ridge.  Of  the  lives  lost  in 
the  city,  90  per  cent,  were  in  the  district  named. 

How  many  lives  were  sacrificed  to  the  Storm  King  will  never 
be  known.  The  census  taken  in  June  showed  that  Galveston  had 
a  population  of  38,000.  Outside  the  city  limits  on  Galveston 
Island  there  were  1,600  persons  living.  The  dead  in  the  city 
exceeded  5000.  Of  the  1600  living  outside  the  city  limits,  1200 
were  lost.  This  frightful  mortality — 75  per  cent. — outside  the 
city  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  most  of  the  people  there  lived 
in  frail  structures  and  had  no  places  of  comparati^-e  safety  to  take 
refuge  in.  In  the  mainland  district  swept  by  the  storm,  at  least 
100  persons  perished.  It  is  safe,  therefore,  to  state  that  at  "east 
7000  lives  were  lost. 

Of  the  property  damage  no  estimate  can  be  considered  accu- 
rate.    The  estimates  range  from  $25,000,000  to  $50,000,000. 

Of  marvelous  escapes  from  death,  of  acts  of  supreme  heroism, 
of  devotion  and  courage  beyond  parallel,  the  storm  developed 
Tiiany  instances.  In  some  cases  whole  families  were  blotted  out, 
lU  others  the  strong  perished  and  the  weak  survived.  Of  the 
various  branches  of  one  family,  42  were  killed,  while  in  one  house- 
hold 13  out  of  a  total  of  15  were  lost. 

Such  a  scene  of  desolation  as  met  the  eyes  of  the  people  of 
Galveston  when  day  dawned  Sunday,  September  9,  has  rarely 
been  witnessed  on  earth.  Fifteen  hundred  acres  of  the  city  had 
been  swept  clear  of  every  habitation.     Every  street  was  choked 


INTRODUCTION.  Ix 

with  ruins,  while  the  sea,  not  content  with  tearing  away  a  great 
strip  alon^  the  beach  front,  had  piled  the  wreckage  in  one  great 
long  mass  from  city  end  to  city  end.  Beneath  these  masses  of 
broken  buildings,  in  the  streets,  in  the  yards,  in  fence  corners,  in 
cisterns,  in  the  bay,  far  out  across  the  waters  on  the  mainland 
shores,  everywhere,  in  fact,  were  corpses.  Galveston  was  a  ver-' 
itable  charnel-house.  To  bury  the  dead  was  a  physical  impossi- 
bility. Added  to  the  horror  of  so  many  corpses  was  the  presence 
of  carcasses  of  thousands  of  horses,  cattle,  dogs  and  other  domes- 
tic animals. 

To  a  people  upon  whom  such  a  terrible  calamity  had  been 
visited,  now  devolved  a  duty  the  like  of  which  a  civilized  people 
had  never  been  called  to  perform.  To  protect  the  living  the  dead 
had  to  be  gotten  rid  of  with  all  speed,  for  with  corpses  on  every 
side,  with  carcasses  by  the  thousands,  and  with  a  severe  tropic 
sun  to  hasten  decomposition,  pestilence  in  its  most  terrible  form 
threatened  the  living  if  the  dead  were  not  removed. 

The  tumbrels  that  rumbled  over  Paris  streets  with  the  grue- 
some burdens  that  came  from  Robespierre's  abattoir  had  little 
work  compared  with  the  carts  and  wagons  of  Galveston  in  the 
days  that  followed  the  awful  storm.  It  was  at  first  determined  to 
bury  the  dead  at  sea,  but  the  procession  of  the  dead  seemed  never- 
ending,  and  the  cargoes  that  were  taken  to  the  deep  and  cast  upon 
the  waters  came  back  with  the  tides  and  littered  the  shores.  Then 
it  was  decided  to  burn  the  dead. 

Ye  who  know  not  the  horror  of  those  days,  who  took  no  part 
in  the  saddest  spectacle  that  man  ever  witnessed,  may  well  shed 
tears  of  sympathy  for  those  whose  human  tenement  blazed  on  the  ■ 
funeral  pyre  in  street  or  avenue,  or  whose  requiem  was  sung  by/ 
the  waves  that  had  brought  death^ — but  shed  tears,  too,  for  the 
brave  men  who  faced  this  most  gruesome  duty  with  a  Spartani 
courage  the  world  has  never  known  before. 

The  dead  past  has  buried  its  dead. 

For  a  week  Galveston  was  under  martial  law.  There  was  no 
disorder.  There  was  some  robbing  of  the  dead  by  ghouls.  This 
was  checked  by  a  punishment  swift  and  sure. 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

The  city  rose  from  its  ruins  as  if  by  magic.  Street  aftei 
street  was  cleared  of  debris.  A  small  army  of  men  worked  from 
early  morn  until  the  shadows  of  night  descended,  to  lift  the  city 
from  its  burden  of  wreckage.  Then,  when  danger  of  epidemic 
seemed  passed,  attention  was  turned  to  commerce.  The  bay  was 
strewn  with  stranded  vessels.  Monster  ocean  steamers  weighing 
thousands  of  tons  had  been  picked  up  like  toys,  driven  across  the 
lowlands,  and  thrown  far  from  their  moorings.  One  big  steam- 
ship was  hurled  through  three  bridges,  another,  weighing  4,000 
tons,  was  carried  twenty-two  miles  from  deep  water,  and  dashed 
against  a  bayou  bluff  in  another  county. 

The  great  wharves  and  warehouses  along  the  bay  front  were  a 
mass  of  splintered,  broken  timbers. 

But  the  mighty  energy  of  man  worked  wonders.  Marvelous 
to  say,  under  such  conditions,  a  bridge  2%  miles  long  was  built 
across  the  bay  within  seven  days  and  Galveston,  which  had  been 
cut  off  from  the  world,  was  once  more  in  active  touch  with  all  the 
marts  of  trade  and  commerce.  An  undaunted  people  strove  as 
only  an  indomitable  people  can  strive,  to  rehabilitate  the  city. 

The  signs  of  the  cripple  are  still  upon  the  city,  but  every 
hour  brings  nearer  the  day  when  the  crutches  will  be  thrown 
away  and  Galveston,  which  by  nature  and  by  man  was  chosen  as 
the  entreport  for  the  great  West,  will  rise  to  a  loftier  destiny  and 
a  more  enduring  commercial  prosperity  than  seemed  possible 
before  she  was  tried  in  the  crucible  of  disaster.    Longfellow  says  : 

Our  lot  is  the  common  lot  of  all. 
Into  each  Hfe  some  rain  must  fall, 
Some  days  must  be  dark  and  dreary. 

The  dark  and  dreary  days  were  crowded  into  Galveston's  life 
with  horror  unspeakable.  It  is  an  inexorable  law  of  nature  that 
after  the  storm  comes  the  radiance  of  a  glorious  sunshine. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  PAGE 

First  News  of  the  Great  Calamity — Galveston  Almost 
Totally  Destroyed  by  Wind  and  Waves — Thousauds 
Swept  to  Instant  Death j« 

CHAPTER  II. 
The    Tale    of    Destrnction    Grows — A  Night    of  Horrors — 
Sufferings  of  the    Survivors. — Relief  Measures   by  the 


National    Government. 


29 


CHAPTER  III. 
Inciaents   of  the  Awful   Hurricane — Unparalleled  Atrocities  • 

by    Lawless    Hordes — Earnest   Appeals   for  Help.  ,        .       42 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Cry  of  Distress  in  the  Wrecked  City — Negro  Vandals 
Shot   Down — Progress  of  the  Relief  Work — Strict    Mili- 
tar^^    Rules 5j 

CHAPTER    V. 

Vivid  Pictures  of  Suffering  in  Every  Street  and  House — The 
Gulf  City  a  Ghastly  Mass  of  Ruins— The  Sea  Givin<»- 
up   its  Dead — Supplies  Pouring  in  from  Every  Quarter.     S6 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Two  Survivors  Give  Harrowing  Details  of  the  Awful  Disas- 
ter— Hundreds  Eager  to  Get  out  of  Galveston — Clean- 
ing up  the  Wreckage , 107 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII.  PACE 

Not  a  House  in  Galveston  Escaped  Damage — Young  and  Old, 
Rich  and  Poor,  Hurried  to  a  Watery  Grave — Citizens 
With  Guns  Guarding  the  Living  and  the  Dead 129 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Fears  of  Pestilence — Searching  Parties  Clearing  away  the 
Ruins  and  Cremating  the  Dead — Distracted  Crowds 
Waiting  to  Eeave  the  City — Wonderful  Escapes  ....    146 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Story  of  a  Brave  Hero — A  Vast  Army  of  Helpless  Victims 
— Scenes  that  Shock  the  Beholders — Our  Nation  Rises 
•^o  the  Occasion 167 

CHAPTER    X. 

Details    of  the   Overwhelming    Tragedy — The   Whole    City 
Caught   in    the  Death  Trap — Personal    Experiences   of 
Those   Who    Escaped — First    Reports   More   than   Con 
firmed 191 

CHAPTER   XL 

Galveston  Calamity — One  of  the  Greatest  Known  to  His- 
tor}^ — Many  Thousands  Maimed  and  Wounded — Few 
Heeded  the  Threatening  Hurricane — The  Doomed  City 
Turned  to    Chaos 212 

CHAPTER   XIL 

Thrilling  Narratives  by  Eye-witnesses — Path  of  the  Storms 
Fury  Through  Galveston — Massive  Heaps  of  Rubbish — 
Huge  Buildings  Swept  into  the  Gulf 234 

CHAPTER  XHI. 

Refugees  Continue  the  Terrible  Stor}^ — Rigid  Military 
Patrol — The  Cit}^  in  Darkness  at  Night — Hungry  and 
Ragged  Throngs 25;? 


CONTilNTS.  xiii 

CHAPTER  XIV.  PAGE 

Dead  Babes  Floating  in  the  Water — Sharp  Crack  of  Soldiers' 
Rifles — Tears  Mingle  With  the  Flood — Doctors  and 
Nurses  for  the  Sick  and  Dying 273 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Family  in  a  Tree-top  All  Night — Rescue  of  the  Perishing — 
Railroad  Trains  Hurrying  Forward  With  Relief — 
Pathetic  Scenes  in  the  Desolate  City 293 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Startling  Havoc  Made  by  the  Angr}^  Storm — Vessels  Far 
Out  on  the  Prairie — Urgent  Call  for  Millions  of  Dollars 
- — Tangled  Wires  and  Mountains  of  Wreckage     ....     318 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Governor  Sayres  Revises  His  Estimate  of  Those  Lost  and 
Makes  it  12,000 — A  Multitude  of  the  Destitutes- 
Abundant  Supplies  and  Vast  Work  of  Distribution    .    .     340 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

An  Island  of  Desolation — Crumbling  Walls — Faces  White 
With  x\gony — Tales  of  Dismay  and  Death — Curious 
Sights 360 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Thousands  Died  in  Their  Efforts  to  Save  Others — Houses 
and  Human  Beings  Floating  on  the  Tide — An  Army  of 
Orphans — Greatest  Catastrophe  in  Our  History   .    .    .    .     377 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  Storm's  Murderous  Fury — People  Stunned  by  the  Stag- 
gering Blow — Heroic  Measures  to  Avert  Pestilence — 
Thrilling  Story  of  the  Ursuline  Convent 391 


^.^,  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXL 

Unparalelled  Bombardment  of  Waves — Wonderful   Courage 

Shown  by  the  Survivors — Letter  from  Clara  Barton     .     .416 

CHAPTER  XXH. 

Galveston  Storm  Stories — Fierce  Battles  with  Surging  Waves 
— Vivid  Accounts  from  Fortunate  Survivors — A  City  of 
Sorrow 440 

CHAPTER  XXIIL 

Heroic  Incidents — Arrival  of  Relief  Trains — Hospitals  for  the 

Injured — Loud  Call  for  Skilled  Labor 461 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

One  Hero  Rescues  Over  Two  Hundred — Traveler  Caught  in 
the  Rush  of  Water — Report  of  a  Government  Official — 
How  the  Great  Storm  Started 477 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Storms  of  Great  Violence  Around  Galveston — Wrecked  Cities 
and  Vast  Destruction  of  Property — Appalling  Sacrifice 
of  Life 497 

Imprisoned  by  the  Storm 509 

Names  of  the  Victims  of  the  Great  Galveston  Horror      .     .     .517 


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CHAPTER   I. 

First    News   of    the    Great    Calamity  —  Galveston   Almost 

Totally    Destroyed    by   W^inds    and    Waves. 

Thousands  Swept  to  Instant  Death. 

THE  first  news  of  the  appalliug  calarait}"  that  fell  like  a  thun- 
derbolt on  Galveston  came  in  the  following  despatch  from 
the  Governor  of  Texas  : 

"  Information  has  just  reached  me  that  about  3000  lives  have 
been  lost  in  Galveston,  with   enormous  destruction  of  property 
No  information  from  other  points. 

"JOSEPH  D.   SAYRES,   Governor." 

This  despatch  was  dated  at  Austin,  Texas,  September  9th. 
Further  intelligence  was  awaited  with  great  anxiety  in  all  parts 
of  the  country.  The  worst  was  feared,  and  all  the  fears  were 
mere  than  realized.  Later  intelligence  showed  that  the  West 
Indian  storm  which  reached  the  Gulf  coast  on  the  morning  of 
September  8th,  wrought  awful  havoc  in  Texas.  Reports  were 
conflicting,  but  it  was  known  that  an  appalling  disaster  had  befal- 
len the  city  of  Galveston,  where,  it  was  reported,  a  thousand  or 
more  lives  had  been  blotted  out  and  a  tremendous  property  damage 
incurred.  Meagre  reports  from  Sabine  Pass  and  Port  Arthur  also 
indicated  a  heavy  loss  of  life. 

Among  those  who  brought  tidings  from  the  sticken  city  of 
Galveston  was  James  C.  Timmins,  who  resides  in  Houston,  and 
who  is  the  General  Superintendent  of  the  National  Compress 
Company.  After  Mr.  Spillane  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  reach 
Houston  with  news  of  the  great  disaster  which  had  befallen  that 
city,  and  after  all  he  reported  it  was  evident  that  the  magnitude 
of  the  disaster  remained  to  be  told. 

After  remaining  through  the  hurricane  on  Saturday,  the  8th, 
he  departed  from  Galveston  on  a  schooner  and  came  across  the 
bay  to  Morgan's  Point,  where  he    caught    a   train    for    Houston. 
The  hurricane,  Mr.  Timmins  said,  was  the  worst  ever  known. 
•2  17 


18  FIRST   NEWS   OF   THE   GREAT   CALAMITY. 

The  estimate  made  by  citizeus  of  Galveston  was  that 
Tour  thousand  houses,  most  of  them  residences,  were  destroyed, 
and  that  at  least  one  thousand  people  had  been  drowned,  killed 
or  were  missing.  Business  houses  were  also  destroyed.  These 
estimates,  it  was  learned  afterward,  were  far  below  the  actual 
facts. 

The  city,  Mr.  Timmins  averred,  was  a  complete  wreck,  so  far 
as  he  could  see  from  the  water  front  and  from  the  Tremont  Hotel. 
Water  was  blown  over  the  island  by  the  hurricane,  the  wind 
blowing  at  the  rate  of  eighty  miles  an  hour  straight  from  the 
^ulf  and  forcing  the  sea  water  before  it  in  big  waves.  The  gale 
was  a  steady  one,  the  heart  of  it  striking  the  city  about  5  o'clock 
in  the  evening  and  continuing  without  intermission  until  mid- 
night, when  it  abated  somewhat,   although  it   continued  to   blow 

all  night. 

WORST  HURRICANE  EVER  KNOWN. 

The  water  extended  across  the  island.  Mr.  Timmins  said 
it.  was  three  feet  deep  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Tremont  Hotel,  and 
was  six  feet  deep  in  Market  street.  Along  the  water  front  the 
damage  was  very  great.  The  roofs  had  been  blown  from  all  the 
elevators,  and  the  sheds  along  the  wharves  were  either  wrecked 
or  had  lost  their  sides  and  were  of  no  protection  to  the  contents. 

Most  of  the  small  sailing  craft  were  wrecked,  and  were  either 
piled  up  on  the  wharves  or  floating  bottom  side  up  in  the  bay. 
There  was  a  small  steamship  ashore  three  miles  north  of  Pelican 
Island,  but  Mr.  Timmins  could  not  distinguish  her  name.  She 
was  flying  a  British  flag.  Another  big  vessel  had  been  driven 
ashore  tat  Virginia  Point,  and  still  another  was  aground  at  Texas 
City.  At  the  south  point  of  Houston  Island  an  unknown  ship 
)ay  in  a  helpless  condition. 

The  lightship  that  marks  Galveston  bar  was  hard  and  fast 
aground  at  Bolivar  Point.  Mr.  Timmins  and  the  men  with  him 
on  the  schooner  rescued  two  sailors  from  the  Middle  Bay  who 
had  been  many  hours  in  the  water.  These  men  were  foreigners, 
and  he  could  gain  no  information  from  them. 

A  wreck  of  a  vessel  which  looked  like  a  large  steam  trig  was 


FIRST   NEWS   OF  THE   GREAT   CALAMITY.  19 

observed  just  before  tlie  part}^  landed.  In  the  bay  tbe  carcasses 
of  nearly  two  hundred  horses  and  mules  were  seen,  but  no  human 
body  was  visible. 

The  scenes  during  the  storm  could  not  be  described.  Women 
and  children  were  crowded  into  the  Tremont  Hotel,  where  he  was 
seeking  shelter,  and  all  night  these  unfortunates  were  bemoaning 
their  losses  of  kindred  and  fortune.  They  were  grouped  about 
the  stairways  and  in  the  galleries  and  rooms  of  the  hotel.  What 
was  occurring  in  other  parts  of  the  city  could  only  be  con- 
jectured. 

The  city  of  Galveston  waslnow  entirely  submerged  and  cut 
off  from  communication.  The  boats  were  gone,  the  railroads 
could  not  be  operated,  and  the  water  was  so  high  people  could  not 
walk  out  by  way  of  the  bridge  across  the  bay,  even  were  the  bridge 
standing. 

Provisions  were  badly  needed,  as  a  great  majority  of  the 
people  lost  all  they  had.  The  water  works'  power  house  vvas 
wrecked,  and  a  water  famine  was  threatened,  as  the  cisterns  w^i'C 
all  ruined  by  the  overflow  of  salt  water.  This  was  regarded  ?:.!, 
the  most  serious  problem  to  be  faced.  The  city  was  in  darkness, 
the  electric  plant  having  been  ruined. 

BODIES  FLOATING  IN  THE  BAY. 

There  was  no  way  of  estimating  the  property  damage.  The 
cast  end  portion  of  the  city,  which  was  the  residence  district  was 
practically  wiped  out  of  existence.  On  the  west  end,  which  faces 
the  gulf  on  another  portion  of  the  island,  much  havoc  was  done 
The  beach  was  swept  clean,  the  bath-houses  were  destroyed,  and 
many  of  the  residences  were  total  wrecks. 

Among  the  passengers  who  arrived  at  Houston  on  a  relief 
train  from  Galveston  was  Ben  Dew,  an  attache  of  the  Southern 
Pacific.  Dew  had  been  at  Virginia  Point  for  several  hours, 
and  said  that  he  saw  loo  to  150  dead  bodies  floating  out  on  the 
beach  at  that  place. 

Conductor  Powers  reported  that  twenty-five  corpses  had  been 
recovered  by  the  life-saving  crew,  many  of  them  women  ;  that  the 


20  FIRST   NEWS   OF   THE   GREAT   CALAMITY. 

crew  had  reported  that  many  bodies  were  floating,  and  that  they 
were  using  every  endeavor  to  get  them  all  out  of  the  water.  The 
water  swept  across  the  island,  and  it  is  presumed  that  most  of 
these  were  Galveston  people,  though  none  of  them  had  been  iden- 
tified. 

LOST  WIFE  AND  SIX    CHILDREN. 

One  of  the  refugees  who  came  in  on  the  relief  train  and  who 
had  a  sad  experience  was  S.  W.  Clinton,  an  engineer  at  the  fer- 
tilizing plant  at  the  Galveston  stock  yards.  Mr,  Clinton's  family 
consisted  of  his  wife  and  six  children.  When  his  house  was 
washed  away  he  managed  to  get  two  of  his  little  boys  safely  to  a 
raft,  and  with  them  he  drifted  helplessly  about.  His  raft  collided 
with  wreckage  of  every  description  and  was  split  in  two,  and  he 
was  forced  to  witness  the  drowning  of  his  sons,  being  unable  to 
help  them  in  any  way.  Mr.  Clinton  says  parts  of  the  city  were 
seething  masses  of  water. 

From  an  eye-witness  of  the  vast  devastation  we  are  able  to 
give  the  following  graphic  account : 

"The  storm  that  raged  along  the  coast  of  Texas  was  the 
most  disastrous  that  has  ever  visited  this  section.  The  wires  are 
down,  and  there  is  no  way  of  finding  out  just  what  has  happened, 
but  enough  is  known  to  make  it  certain  that  there  has  been  great 
loss  of  life  and  destruction  of  property  all  along  the  coast  and  for 
a  hundred  miles  inland.  Every  town  that  is  reached  reports  one 
or  more  dead,  and  the  property  damage  is  so  great  that  there  is 
no  way  of  computing  it  accurately. 

"  Galveston  remains  isolated.  The  Houston  Post  and  the 
Associated  Press  made  efforts  to  get  special  trains  and  tugs  to- 
day with  which  to  reach  the  island  city.  The  railroad  companies 
declined  to  risk  their  locomotives. 

"It  is  known  that  the  railroad  bridges  across  the  bay  at 
Galveston  are  either  wrecked  or  are  likely  to  be  destroyed  with 
the  weight  of  a  train  on  them  ;  the  approaches  to  the  wagon 
bridge  are  gone  and  it  is  rendered  useless.  The  bridge  of  the 
Galveston,  Houston  and  Northern  Railroad  is  standing,  but  the 
drawbridges  over  Clear  creek  and  at  Bdgewater  are  gone,  and  thf 


FIRST   NEWS   OF  THE   GREAT   CALAMITY.  21 

roa<l  cannot  get  trains  tlirougli  to  utilize  tlie  bridge  across 
the  bay. 

"  Sabine  Pass  has  not  been  heard  from  to-day  (September  9th). 
The  last  news  was  received  from  there  yesterday  morning,  and  at 
that  time  the  water  was  surrounding  the  old  town  at  the  pass,  and 
the  wind  was  rising  and  the  waves  coming  high.  From  the  new 
town,  which  is  some  distance  back,  the  water  had  reached  the 
depot  and  was  running  through  the  streets.  The  people  were 
leaving  for  the  high  country,  known  as  the  Black  Ridge,  and  it 
is  believed  that  all  escaped.  Two  bodies  have  been  brought  in 
from  Seabrooke,  on  Galveston  Bay,  and  seventeen  persons  aie 
missing  there. 

"In  Houston  the  property  damage  is  great,  a  conservative 
estimate  placing  it  at  $250,000.  The  Merchants'  and  Planters' 
Oil  Mill  was  wrecked,  entailing  a  loss  of  $40,000.  The  Dickson 
Car  Wheel  Works  suffered  to  the  extent  of  $16,000.  The  big 
Masonic  Temple,  which  is  the  property  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
State,  was  partly  wrecked.  Nearly  every  church  in  the  city  was 
damaged.  The  First  Baptist,  Southern  Methodist  and  Trinity 
Methodist,  the  latter  a  negro  church,  will  have  to  be  rebuilt  before 
ihey  can  be  used  again.     Many  business   houses  were  unroofed. 

MANY  TOWNS  DEMOLISHED. 

"The  residence  portion  of  the  town  presents  a  dilapidated 
appearance,  but  the  damage  in  this  part  of  the  city  has  not  been 
so  great  as  in  some  others.  The  streets  are  almost  impassable 
because  of  the  litter  of  shade  trees,  fences,  telephone  wires  and 
poles.  Much  damage  was  done  to  window  glass  and  furniture. 
Many  narrow  escapes  are  recorded. 

"  Another  train  has  left  here  for  Galveston,  making  the  third 
to-day.  The  two  preceding  ones  have  not  been  heard  from,  as 
all  wires  are  prostrated. 

"  Meagre  reports  are  arriving  here  from  the  country  between 
Houston  and  Galveston,  along  the  line  of  the  Santa  Fe 
Railroad.  The  tornado  was  the  most  destructive  in  the  history 
of  the  State. 


22  FIRST   NEWS   OF    THE   GREAT   CALAMITY. 

"The  town  of  Alvin  was  practically  demolislied.  Hitch- 
cock suffered  severely  from  the  storm,  while  the  little  town  of 
Alta  Loma  is  reported  without  a  house  standing.  The  town  of 
Pearl  has  lost  one-half  of  its  buildings. 

"  L.  B.  Carlton,  the  president  of  the  Business  League  of 
Alvin,  and  a  prominent  merchant  there,  reports  that  not  a  build- 
ing is  left  standing  in  the  town,  either  residence  or  business. 
Stocks  of  goods  and  house  furniture  are  ruined,  and  crops 
are  a  total  loss.     Alvin  is  a  town  of  about  1200  inhabitants. 

SANTA  FE  TRAIN  BLOWN  FROM  THE  TRACK. 

"The  Santa  Fe  train  which  left  here  at  7.55  Saturday  night, 
the  8th,  was  wrecked  at  a  point  about  two  miles  north  of  Alvin. 
The  train  was  running  slowly  when  it  encountered  the  h«avy 
storm.  It  is  reported  that  the  train  was  literally  lifted  from  the 
track." 

A  thrilling  story  was  told  by  two  men  who  floated  across 
from  Galveston  to  the  mainland.  It  came  in  the  form  of  a  tele- 
.  ;mm  received  at  Dallas  f"om  Houston  : 

"  Relief  train  just  returned.  They  could  not  get  closer  than 
six  miles  of  Virginia  Point,  where  the  prairie  was  covered  with 
lumber,  debris,  pianos,  trunks,  and  dead  bodies.  Two  hundred 
corpses  were  counted  from  the  train.  A  large  steamer  is  stranded 
two  miles  this  side  of  Virginia  Point,  as  though  thrown  up  by  a 
tidal  wave.     Nothing  can  be  seen  of  Galveston. 

"  Two  men  were  picked  up  who  floated  across  to  the  mainland, 
who  say  they  estimate  the  loss  of  life  up  to  the  time  they  left  at 
2000." 

The  above  message  was  addressed  to  Superintendent  Felton, 
Dallas,  and  comes  from  Mr.  Vaughn,  manager  of  the  Western 
Union  ofi&ce  at  Houston.  The  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  north 
bound  "  flyer"  was  reported  wrecked  near  Sayers. 

The  ofSce  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  at  S^ 
Louis  was  besieged  with  thousands  of  inquiries  as  to  the  extent 
and  result  of  the  terrible  storm  that  cut  off  Galveston  from  com- 
munication with  the  rest  of  the  world.     Rumors  of  the  most  dire- 


FIRST    NEWS   OF   THE   GREAT   CALAMITY.  23 

ful  nature  come  from  that  part  of  Texas,  some  of  them  even 
intimating  that  Galveston  had  been  entirely  wrecked  and  that  the 
bay  was  covered  with  the  dead  bodies  of  its  residents.  Nothing 
definite,  however,  could  be  learned,  as  the  Gulf  city  was  entirely 
isolated,  not  even  railroad  trains  being  able  to  reach  it.  All  the 
telegraph  wires  to  Galveston  were  gone  south  of  Houston,  and  to 
accentuate  the  serious  condition  of  affairs  the  cable  lines  between 
Galveston  and  Tampico  and  Coatzacoalcos,  Mexico,  were  severed  ; 
at  least  no  communication  over  them  was  possible. 

The  Western  Union  had  a  large  number  of  telegraph  opera- 
tors and  linemen  waiting  at  Houston  to  go  to  Galveston,  but  it 
was  impossible  to  get  them  there.  San  Antonio  was  being 
reached  by  El  Paso,  in  the  extreme  southwestern  portion  of  t'^'* 
State,  a  procedure  made  necessary  by  the  prevailing  storm. 

WATER    BLOWN    COMPLETELY    OVER    THE    CITY. 

Mr.  Joyce,  another  refugee  from  Galveston,   made  the  follow* 
ing  statement : 

"  The  wind  was  blowing  Saturday  afternoon  and  night  at 
about  seventy-five  miles  an  hour,  blowing  the  water  in  the  Gulf 
and  completely  covering  the  city.  The  people  of  Galveston  did 
not  think  it  was  much  at  first  and  kept  within  their  homes,  con- 
sequently when  the  wind  began  blowing  as  it  did  and  the  water 
dashed  against  the  houses,  completely  demolishing  them,  many 
lives  were  lost.  I  have  no  idea  how  many  were  killed,  but  think 
there  will  be  several  thousand  deaths  reported,  besides  many 
people  whom  we  will  know  nothing  about. 

"  I  vv^as  in  the  storm  which  struck  Galveston  in  1875,  but  that 
one,  bad  as  it  was,  was  nothing  in  comparison  with  Saturday's." 

The  following  account  of  Galveston   will   be   of  interest  to 

leaders  in  connection  with  the  great  disaster  that  has  ruined  that 

once  prosperous  and  thriving  city. 

Galveston  is  situated  on  an  island  extending  east  and  west 

...  .1 

for  twenty  eeven  miles,  and  is  seven  miles  in  its   greatest  width 

north  and  south.     No  city  could  be  in  greater  danger  from  such 

a  horrible  nsitation  as  has  now  come  to  Galveston.     In  no  part 


2\  FIRST    NEWS   OF   THE   GREAT   CALAMIT\^ 

of  tlie  city,  witli  its  former  38,000  population,  is  it  more  than  six 
feet  above  the  sea  level. 

The  flat  condition  not  only  points  to  the  desperate  situation 
of  the  people  at  such  a  time  as  this,  but  their  danger  may  be  con- 
sidered emphasized  when  it  is  known  that  exactly  where  the  city 
is  built  the  island  is  only  one  and  one-quarter  miles  wide. 

On  the  ba}^  or  north  side  of  the  city,  is  the  commercial  sec- 
tion, with  wharves  stretching  along  for  nearly  two  miles,  lined 
with  sheds  and  large  storage  houses.  Then,  in  that  portion  of 
Galveston,  there  are  three  elevators,  one  of  1,500,000  bushels 
capc/^it}^,  one  of  1,000,000  and  the  third  of  750,000. 

A    BRIDGE    TWO    MILES    LONG. 

The  island  from  the  north  side  is  connected  with  the  main- 
land  by  railroad  bridges  and  the  longest  wagon  bridge  in  the 
world,  the  latter  nearly  two  miles  in  length.  In  1872  the  entire 
east  end  of  the  city  was  swept  away  by  the  tidal  wave  that  fol- 
lowed d  terrific  storm  that  swept  the  Gulf  coast  for  three  days. 
Then  the  eastern  land,  on  which  buildings  stood,  was  literally 
torn  awa3\  The  work  of  replacing  it  has  since  been  going  on, 
and  Fort  Point,  that  guards  the  entrance  to  the  harbor,  has  since 
been  built,  and  on  its  parapets  are  mounted  some  of  the  heaviest 
coast  defense  ordnance  used  by  the  government.  By  the  force 
of  the  storm  of  1872  six  entire  blocks  of  the  city  were  swept 
away. 

It  is  on  the  south  side   of  the   city,   beginning  within  fifty 

yards  of  the  medium  Gulf  tide,  that  the  wealthy  residence  portion 

of  the  city  is  located,  and  which  was  the  first  part  of  Galveston  to 

be  stricken  by  the  full   force   of  the  storm  and  flood.     All  of  the 

eastern  end  of  the   city   was  washed  away,  and  in  this  quarter, 

between  Broadway  and  I  street,  some  of  the  handsomest  and  most 

expensive  residence  establishments  are  located.     There  was  located 

there  one  home,   which  alone  cost  the   owner   over   $1,000,000. 

Most  of  the  residences  are  of  frame,  but  there  are  many  of  stone 

and  brick.     lu  the   extreme  eastern  end  of  the  cit}^   there  are 

many  of  what  we  call  raised  cottages.     They  are  built  on  piling, 


FIRST    NEWS   OF   THE   GREAT   CALAMITY.  25 

and  stand  from  eight  to  ten  feet  from  the  ground  as  a  precai  tion 
against  floods,  it  being  possible  for  the  water  to  sweep  under  tl  .em. 
Any  protection  that  has  ever  been  provided  for  the  Gulf  side 
of  the  city  has  been  two  stone  breakwaters,  but  many  times,  with 
ordinary  storms  coming  in  from  the  Gulf,  the  high  tidewater  has 
been  hurled  over  the  low  stone  walls  right  to  the  very  doors  of  the 
residences.  From  Virginia  Point,  six  miles  from  Galvest'ii,  in 
ordinary  conditions  of  the  atmosphere,  the  city  can  be  phiinly 
seen.  If  it  is  true  that  Galveston  cannot  be  now  seen  from  the 
Point,  then  the  conditions  of  the  people  in  the  city  must  be  inde- 
scribably horrible.  In  short,  a  large  part  of  the  city  is  obliterated 
and  has  disappeared. 

VAST    AMOUNT    OF    MONEY    INVESTED. 

Many  millions  of  dollars  are  invested  in  the  wholesale  and 
"^^tail  business  of  the  city.  On  Strand  street  alone  there  are 
ten  blocks  of  business  establishments  that  represent  an  inve;;ted 
capital  of  $127,000,000.  Market  street  is  the  heavy  retail  street, 
and  there,  in  the  heart  of  the  flooded  district,  the  losses  carnot 
but  reach  away  into  the  millions.  The  fact,  as  indicated  by  the 
despatches,  that  water  is  standing  six  feet  deep  in  the  Tremont 
Hotel,  furnishes  startling  evidence  to  me  that  Galveston  has  b^^.en, 
indeed,  dreadfully  visited.  The  hotel  is  in  almost  exactl}'  the 
centre  of  the  city.  Two  years  ago  Galveston  did  the  heaviest 
shipping  business  in  cotton  and  grain  of  any  Southern  city.  When 
I  was  at  home  two  shiploads  of  cattle  were  leaving  the  port  on  an 
average  every  week. 

Dr.  H.  C.  Frankenfeld,  forecast  official  of  the  Weather 
Bureau,  gave  an  account  of  the  West  India  hurricane  |;hat  travelled 
through  Texas.  The  first  sign  of  the  storm  was  noticed  August 
30  near  the  Windward  Islands,  about  latitude  15  degrees  north, 
longitude  63  degrees  west.  On  the  morning  of  August  31  it  was 
still  in  the  same  latitude,  but  had  moved  westward  to  about  lomri- 
tude  67  degrees,  or  about  200  miles  south  of  the  island  of  Porto 
Rico.  At  that  time,  however,  it  had  not  assumed  a  very  definite 
storm  formation.     It  was  central  in  the  Caribbean  Sea  on  the 


26  FIRST   NEWS   OF   THE   GREAT  CALAMITY. 

morning  of  September  ist,  evidently  about  two  hundred  miles  south 
of  Santo  Domingo  City. 

It  had  reached  a  point  somewhere  to  the  southwest,  and  not 
very  far  from  Jamaica,  by  September  2d.  The  morning  of  Sep- 
tember 3d  found  it  about  175  miles  south  of  the  middle  of  Cuba. 
It  had  moved  northwestward  to  latitude  21  degrees  and  longitude 
81  degrees  by  September  4th.  Up  to  this  time  the  storm  had  noi 
developed  any  destructive  force  but  had  caused  heavy  rains,  par- 
ticularly at  Santiago,  Cuba,  where  12.58  inches  of  rain  fell  in 
twenty-four  hours. 

OMINOUS    PROGRESS    OF    THE    STORM. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fifth,  the  storm  centre'had  passed  over 
Cuba  and  had  become  central  betweenHavana  and  Key  West.  High 
winds  occurred  over  Cuba  during  the  night  of  the  fourth.  By 
the  morning  of  the  sixth  the  storm  centre  was  a  short  distance 
northwest  of  Key  West,  Fla.,  and  the  high  winds  had  commenced 
over  Southern  Florida,  forty-eight  miles  an  hour  from  the  east 
being  reported  from  Jupiter,  and  forty  miles  from  the  N.  E.  from 
Key  West.  At  this  time  it  became  a  question  as  to  whether  the 
storm  would  recurve  and  pass  up  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  a  most 
natural  presumption  judging  from  the  barometric  conditions  over 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  United  States,  or  whether  it  would  con- 
tinue northwesterly  over  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Advisory  messages  were  sent  as  early  as  September  ist  to 
Key  West  and  the  Bahama  Islands,  giving  warning  of  the 
approach  of  the  storm  and  advising  caution  to  all  shipping.  The 
warnings  were  supplemented  by  others  on  the  second,  third, 
and  fourth,  giving  more  detailed  information,  and  were  gradually 
extended  along  the  Gulf  coast  as  far  as  Galveston  and  the  Atlantic 
coast  to  Norfolk. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  fourth  the  first  storm  warnings  were 
issued  to  all  ports  in  Florida  from  Cedar  Keys  to  Jupiter.  On  the 
fifth  they  were  extended  to  Hatteras,  and  advisory  messages  issued 
along  the  coast  as  far  as  Boston.  Hurricane  warnings  were  also 
ordered  displayed  on  the  night  of  the  fifth  from  Cedar  Keys  to 


FIRST   NEWS   OF   THE   GREAT   CALAMITY.  27 

Savannali.  On  the  fiftli  storm  warniugs  were  also  ordered  dis- 
played on  tlie  Gulf  coast  from  Pensacola,  Fla.,  to  Port  Bads,  La. 
During  tlie  sixtli  barometric  conditions  over  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  United  States  so  far  changed  as  to  prevent  the  movement 
of  the  storm  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  it  therefore  continued 
northwest  over  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

On  the  morning  of  the  seventh  it  was  apparently  central 
south  of  the  Louisiana  coast,  about  longitude  28,  latitude  89.  At 
this  time  storm  signals  were  ordered  up  on  the  North  Texas 
coast,  and  during  the  day  were  extended  along  the  entire  coast. 
On  the  morning  of  the  eighth  the  storm  was  nearing  the  Texas 
coast,  and  was  apparently  central  at  about  latitude  28,  ♦longitude 
94.  The  last  report  received  from  Galveston,  dated  3.40  P.  M., 
September  8,  showed  a  barometric  pressure  of  29.22  inches,  with 
a  wind  of  forty-two  miles  an  hour,  northeast,  indicating  that  the 
centre  of  the  storm  was  quite  close  to  that  city. 

ALWAYS    IN    DANGER    DURING    A    HURRICANE. 

At  this  time  the  heavy  sea  from  the  southeast  was  constantly 
rising  and  already  covered  the  streets  of  about  half  the  city.  Up 
to  Sunday  morning  no  reports  were  received  from  southern  Texas, 
but  the  barometer  at  Fort  Worth  gave  some  indications  that  the 
storm  was  parsing  into  the  southern  portion  of  the  State.  An 
observation  taken  at  San  Antonio  at  11  o'clock,  but  not  received 
until  half-past  five,  indicated  that  the  centre  of  the  storm  had 
passed  a  short  distance  east  of  the  place,  and  had  then  turned  in 
the  northward. 

Situated  as  Galveston  is,  with  much  of  the  shore  but  a  few 
feet  above  the  mean  high  water,  there  is  so  scant  a  margin  of 
safety  that,  as  was  the  case  on  the  South  Carolina  Sea  Islands  on 
August  27,  1893,  and  among  the  bayous  of  Louisiana  in  October 
of  the  same  year,  any  abnormal  tide  means  death  and  destruc- 
tion. Sabine  Pass  is  a  mere  sand  spit,  and  Galveston  Island) 
itself  is  but  a  few  feet  above  the  ocean  level  at  the  best,  and  is 
but  three  feet  above  high  tide  in  many  places.  As  the  great 
storm  wave  raised  by  the  cyclonic  winds  of  the  average  hurricane 


JJH  FIRST    NEWS   OF  THE   GREAT    CALAMITY. 

may  easily  liave  a  crest  of  from  eiglit  to  nine  feet,  for  a  cit}'-  such 
as  Galveston  this  would  be  most  ominous. 

Such  a  fate  as  an  inundation  during  the  prevalence  of  a  hur- 
ricane has  been  forecast  for  the  island  cit}^,  whose  population 
according  to  the  new  census  is  37,789,  many  of  whom  live  under 
conditions  that  invite  loss  of  life  in  case  of  a  tidal  overflow.  And 
<yet,  though  such  a  disaster  has  been  foreseen  and  forecast,  the 
inertia  of  one's  adherance  to  normal  life  and  duties  is  such  that 
even  in  the  face  of  specific  warning  it  is  not  likely  any  number 
would  flee  to  the  u^ainland.  On  September  8tli,  for  instance,  the 
Weather  Bureau,  which  had  not  lost  track  of  the  storm,  very  cor- 
rectly pofnted  out  that  the  hurricane  was  moving  northwestward 
slowly,  towards  the  Texas  coast,  Port  Bads,  La.,  giving  a  wind 
velocity  of  fifty-six  miles  an  hour.  Storm  warnings  were  ordered 
for  the  eastern  Texas  and  middle  Gulf  region,  and  high  winds 
were  specificall}^  forecast  for  the  coast  of  eastern  Texas.  More 
the  Bureau  could  not  do,  but  it  looks  as   if  its   warnings   were  in 

vain. 

THE  FATEFUL  WINDS  GATHERING  FORCE. 

U:  -fortunately  for  Galveston,  the  slow  movement  of  the  hurri- 
cane was  an  additional  menace,  since  this  meant  the  longer  pound- 
ing of  the  vertical  winds  of  high  velocities.  As  most  readers 
know,  the  hurricane  is  a  storm  which  has  two  entirely  distinct 
motions.  It  is  a  great  cyclonic  whirl  in  which  the  winds  blow 
into  and  about  the  centre  at  great  velocities,  while  its  motion  along 
its  track  may  be  comparatively  slow. 

In  the  present  case  it  took  the  hurricane  four  days  to  cross 
the  Gulf  from  Key  West  to  Galveston,  which  was  at  a  rate  of 
jsibout  twelve  and  one-half  miles  an  hour.  Its  rotary  winds,  how- 
ever, even  a  hundred  miles  from  the  centre  on  Friday,  were  raging 
at  a  rate  of  over  fifty  miles,  and  as  the  vortex  passed  directly  and 
slowly  over  Galveston,  the  buffeting  of  the  winds  beginning  on 
Friday  evening  and  continuing  far  into  Saturday,  must  have  been 
terrific.  Moreover,  as  the  whole  of  Galveston  is  built  up  of  frame 
houses  without  cellars  on  uncertain  foundations,  the  evil  possi- 
bilities must  be  obvious, 


CHAPTER   II. 

The  Tale  of  Destruction  Grows — A  Night  of  Horrors — Suffer- 
ings of  the  Survivors — Relief  Measures  by  the  National 
Government. 

THE  following  graphic  account  of  the  terrible  disaster  is  froniv 
the  pen  of  an  eye-witness,  written  within  twenty-four  hours 
after  the  city  was  struck  by  the  hurricane  :  "No  direct  wire 
communication  has  been  established  between  Dallas  and  Galves- 
ton, and  such  a  connection  Ij  not  likely  to  be  established  earlier 
than  to-morrow.  The  gulf  coast,  back  for  a  distance  of  approxi- 
mately t;venty  miles,  is  one  vast  marsh,  and  in  many  places  the 
water  is  from  three  to  ten  feet  deep,  making  progress  toward  the 
stricken  city  slow  and  unremunerative  in  the  matter  of  direct 
j\ews. 

'  Although  Dallas  is  300  miles  from  Galveston,  all  efforts  for 
direct  communication  centre  here,  as  it  is  the  headquarters  of  the 
telegraph  and  telephone  systems  of  the  State.  Hundreds  of  line- 
men were  hurried  to  the  front  on  Saturday  night  and  Sunday 
morning   from   this   city  to  try  to   put  wire   affairs    in  workable 

order. 

WIND    STORM    OF    GIANT    FORCE. 

"  Less  than  half  a  dozen  out  of  approximately  half  a  hundred 
wires  between  Dallas  and  Houston  have  thus  far  been  gotten  into 
operation.  This  is  because  the  wind  storm  extended  inland  with 
terrific  force  for  a  distance  of  100  miles,  and  destroyed  telegraphic, 
telephonic  and  railroad  connections  to  such  an  extent  as  nearty  to 
paralyze  these  channels  of  communication.  With  the  best  of 
weather  conditions,  it  will  require  several  weeks  to  restore  these 
systems  to  anything  like  their  normal  state. 

"  Nothing  like  definite  and  tangible  information  is  likely  to  be 
received  from  Galveston  earlier  than  Wednesday  or  Thursday. 
All  reliable  information  that  has  been  received  up  to  this  hour 
comes  from  the  advance  guard  of  the  relief  forces  and  the  linemen 
sent  out  by  the  railroad,  telegraph  and  telephone  companies. 

29 


30  A   NIGHT   OF   HORRORS. 

"  None  of  these  reports  place  fhe  number  of  dead  at  Galveston 
at  less  tlian  2000  ;  some  of  them  predict  that  5000  will  be  nearer 
the  mark.  No  one  places  the  property  loss  at  Galveston  at  less 
$10,000,000,  while  Manager  Vaughn,  of  the  Western  Union  office 
at  Houston,  wires  Manager  Baker  at  Dallas :  '  Galveston  as  a 
business  place  is  practically  destroyed.'  When  the  waters  shall 
have  receded  it  is  feared  Manager  Vaughn  will  be  found  to  be  a 
wise  prophet.  Along  the  coast  for  100  miles  either  way  from 
Galveston  is  a  district  that  is  nearly  as  completely  isolated  as  is 
Galveston  itself  In  this  territory  are  not  less  than  100  cities, 
villages  and  hamlets.  Each  of  these  as  far  as  heard  from  reports 
from  two  to  twenty  dead  persons. 

OVER    SEVEN    HUNDRED    CORPSES    FOUND. 

"  In  a  radius  of  approximately  twenty  miles  from  Virginia 
Point,  t^e  centre  of  railroad  relief  operations,  up  to  late  this  after- 
noon more  than  700  corpses  had  been  washed  ashore  or  picked  up 
from  the  main  land.  Hitchcock,  Clear  Creek,  Texas  City,  Virginia 
Point,  Seabrook,  Alvin,  Dickinson  and  half  a  dozen  other  points 
midway  between  Houston  and  Galveston  compose  one  vast  morgue. 

"  Down  along  the  coast  toward  Corpus  Christi  and  Rockport 
all  is  silence.  Not  a  word  had  come  from  there  up  to  this  evening. 
The  first  news  from  that  section  is  likely  to  come  from  San 
Antonio,  as  that  is  the  most  directly  connected  point  with  that 
section  of  the  Gulf.  An  awful  calamity,  it  is  feared,  will  be 
chronicled  when  the  report  does  come. 

"Telegraphic  communication  was  opened  late  this  afternoon 
with  Beaumont  and  Orange  on  the  other  extreme  end  of  the  Gulf 
to  the  eastward  of  Galveston.  The  joyful  news  was  contained  that 
those  two  towns  and  Port  Arthur  were  safe,  but  in  the  territory 
adjacent,  forty  miles  wide  and  100  miles  long,  many  lives  are 
Relieved  to  have  been  lost  and  immense  property  damage  sustained. 

"  Conservative  estimates  of  the  property  losses,  including 
-tomtaercial  and  other  material  interests  at  Galveston  and  Houston, 
put  the  total  at  from  $40,000,000  to  $50,000,000  for  the  State. 
This  includes  the  damage  to  cotton,  which  is  placed  at  250,000 


A   NIGHT   OF   HORRORS.  3i 

bales.  John  Clay,  one  of  the  foremost  men  in  the  cotton  trade  at 
Dallas,  addressed  wire  inquiries  to  all  accessible  points  in  the 
cotton  growing  districts  of  Texas  concerning  crop  losses.  He 
states  they  will  reach  ten  per  cent,  of  the  State's  crop.  Spot  cotton 
sold  at  ten  cents  per  pound  on  the  market,  an  advance  of  half  a  cent 
a  pound  over  Saturday's  best  figures. 

RELIEF   WORK   STARTED. 

''Relief  work  for  the  Galveston  sufferers  started  in  Dallas 
vigorously  on  receipt  of  an  appeal  from  Governor  Sayers.  The 
City  Council  appropriated  $500,  A  mass  meeting  of  citizens 
appointed  soliciting  committees,  as  did  also  the  Odd  Fellows  and 
Knights  of  Pythias.  Fully  $10,000  in  cash  had  been  subscribed 
by  night. 

"  A  special  train  was  started  for  Houston  over  the  Houston 
and  Texas  Central  Railroad  carrying  committees  of  Odd  Fellows, 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  citizens  to  render  aid  and  distribute 
relief  in  the  storm  districts.  At  the  request  of  many  persons  in 
Dallas  a  telegram  was  sent  to  Governor  Sayers  by  J.  C.  McNealus, 
Secretary  of  the  Dallas  County  Democratic  Executive  Commit- 
tee, asking  the  Governor  his  idea  as  to  calling  an  extra  session  of 
the  Legislature.     Governor  Sayers  this  evening  replied  as  follows  : 

" '  Telegram  received.  I  will  do  nothing  until  I  can  hear 
directly  and  authoritatively  from  Galveston  except  to  call  upon 
the  people  to  render  assistance.' 

"  As  there  is  approximately  a  surplus  of  $2,000,000  cash  in 
the  State  Treasury,  it  is  reasoned  that  the  citizens  of  Texas  would 
endorse  the  Governor's  action  should  he  conclude  to  call  a  special 
session  to  furnish  public  relief  to  the  stricken  sections  of  the  State. 

"  A  bulletin  receivtvl  at  the  Houston  and  Texas  Central  head- 

' quarters  from  the  headquarters  of  the  company  in  Houston  stated 

that  a  courier  from  the  relief  force  had  just  arrived.     He  stated 

that  signal  reports  from  men  sent  forward  to  Galveston  Island  to 

the  relief  parties  on  the  main  land  read : 

"  '•Sixt}''  dead  bodies  in  one  block.  Six  hundred  corpses  recov- 
ered 'citid  400  more  reported.     People  dying  from  injuries  and  sick- 


32  A   NIGHT   OF   HORRORS. 

uess  and  for  want  of  fresh  water.  Survivors  tlireatened  with  star- 
vation and  disease.  Doctors,  nurses  and  fresh  water  needed  at 
once.' 

"  The  telegraph  offices  at  Dallas  have  been  besieged  all  day 
with  men  and  women  anxious  to  hear  from  friends  who  were  in 
Galveston  when  the  hurricane  came  on.  Messages  of  inquiry  have 
poured  in  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  More  than  10,000 
messages  were  piled  up  in  the  Dallas  offices  to-day  from  local  and 
outside  parties,  and  every  telegraph  operator  has  been  kept  busy 
as  long  as  he  could  work.  The  offices  have  uniformly  had  to 
inform  the  customers  :  '  We  can't  reach  Galveston  ;  can  only  prom- 
ise to  forward  from  Houston  by  boat  as  early  as  possible.'  Not- 
withstanding discouragements  of  this  kind,  the  customers  have 
almost  invariably  insisted  on  having  their  messages  sent.  Some 
of  the  scenes  at  the  local  telegraph  offices  have  been  very  pathetic. 

"  A  telegram  Avas  received  from  B.  H.  R.  Green,  son  of  Hetty 
Green,  dated  at  Rockport,  stating  that  Rockport  had  not  been  dam- 
aged by  the  storm,  and  that  the  visitors  at  the  Tarpon  Club  House, 
on  St.  Joseph's  Island,  were  safe.  This  news  lessens  the  fear  felt 
for  the  safety  of  the  people  living  along  the  coast  in  the  vicinity 
of  Rockport  and  Corpus  Christi. 

"  Houston  and  Texas  Central  Railroad  officials  at  noon  re- 
ceived bulletins  from  their  general  offices  in  Houston  that  the  loss 
of  life  will  reach  3000  in  Galveston.  The  Missouri,  Kansas  and 
Texas  relief  forces  near  Galveston  and  along  the  coast  telegraphed 
at  noon  that  the  loss  of  life  will  not  be  less  than  5000  and  may 
reach  10,000." 

THE    CITY    IN    RUINS. 

Richard  Spillane,  a  well-known  Galveston  newspaper  man  andf 
day  correspondent  of  the  Associated  Press  in  that  city,  who  reached 
Houston    September    loth,  after  a   terrible   experience,  gives   the 
following  account  of  the.  disaster  at  Galveston  : 

"  One  of  the  most  awful  tragedies  of  modern  times  has  visited 
Galveston.  The  city  is  in  ruins,  and  the  dead  will  number  many 
thousands:  I  am  just  from  the  cit}^,  having  been  commissioned  by 


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A   NICxHT   OF   HORRORS.  33 

tlie  Mayor  and  Citizens'  Committee  to  get  in  touch  v.'itli  tlie  out- 
side world  and  appeal  for  help.  Houston  was  the  nearest  point  at 
which  working  telegraph  instruments  could  be  found,  the  wires  as 
well  as  nearl}^  all  the  buildings  between  here  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  being  wrecked. 

"  When  I  left  Galveston  the  people  were  organizing  for  the 
prompt  burial  of  the  dead,  distribution  of  food  and  all  necessary- 
work  after  a  period  of  disaster. 

CITY    TURNED    INTO    A    RAGING    SEA. 

"  The  wreck  of  Galveston  was  brought  about  by  a  tempest  so 
terrible  that  no  words  can  adequatel}^  describe  its  intensity,  and  by 
a  flood  which  turned  the  city  into  a  raging  sea.  The  Weather 
Bureau  records  show  that  the  wind  attained  a  velocit}^  of  eighty- 
four  miles  an  hour  when  the  measuring  instrument  ble  v  awa}^,  so 
it  is  imjDossible  to  tell  what  was  the  maximum. 

"  The  storm  began  at  2  o'clock  Saturday  morning.  Previous 
to  that  a  great  storm  had  been  raging  in  the  Gulf,  and  the  tide  was 
very  high.  The  wind  at  first  came  from  the  north,  and  was  in 
direct  opposition  to  the  force  from  the  Gulf.  Where  the  storm  in 
the  Gulf  piled  the  water  up  on  the  beach  side  of  the  cit}^,  the  north 
wind  piled  the  water  from  the  bay  onto  the  bay  part  of  the  city. 

"  About  noon  it  became  evident  that  the  city  was  going  to  be 
visited  with  disaster.  Hundreds  of  residences  along  the  beach 
front  were  hurridl}^  abandoned,  the  families  fleeing  to  dwellings  in 
higher  portions  of  the  cit}^  Everj^  home  was  opened  to  the 
refugees,  black  or  white.  The  winds  were  rising  constantly,  and 
it  rained  in  torrents.  The  wind  was  so  fierce  that  the  rain  cut  like 
a  knife. 

"  By  3  o'clock  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  and  bay  met,  and  by  dark 

the  eutire  cit}^  was  submerged.     The  flooding  of  the  electric  light 

plant  and  the  gas  plants  left  the  city  in  darkness.     To  go  upon 

the  streets  was  to  court  death.     The  wind  was  then  at  cyclonic 

velocit}^  roofs,  cisterns,  portions  of  buildings,  telegraph  poles  and 

walls  were  falling,  and  the  noise  of  the  wind  and  the  crashing  of 

buildings  were  terrifjnng  in  the  extreme.     The  wind  and  waters 
3 


M  A    NlCrl-IT    OF    HORRORS. 

rose  steadily  from  dark  until  1.4  5  o'clock  Sunday  moruiug.  Duriug 
all  this  time  the  people  of  Galveston  were  like  rats  in  a  trap.  The 
highest  portion  of  the  cit}^  was  four  to  five  feet  under  water,  while 
in  the  great  majority  of  cases  the  streets  were  submerged  to  a 
depth  of  ten  feet.  To  leave  a  house  was  to  drown.  To  remain 
was  to  court  death  in  the  wreckage. 

"Such  a  night  of  agony  has  seldom  been  equaled.  Without 
apparent  reason  the  waters  suddenly  began  to  subside  at  1.45  A.  M. 
Within  twent}^  minutes  they  had  gone  down  two  feet,  and  before 
daylight  the  streets  were  practically  freed  of  the  flood-waters.  In 
^he  meantime  the  wind  had  veered  to  the  southeast. 

VERY    FEW    BUILDINGS    ESCAPED. 

*^  Very  few  if  any  buildings  escaped  injur}^  There  is  hardlj' 
a  habitable  dr}^  house  in  the  city.  When  the  people  who  had 
escaped  death  went  out  at  daylight  to  view  the  work  of  the  tempest 
and  floods  they  saw  the  most  horrible  sights  imaginable.  In  the 
three  blocks  from  x'V venue  N  to  Avenue  P,  in  Tremont  street,  I  saw 
eight  bodies.     Four  corpses  were  in  one  yard. 

"The  whole  of  the  business  front  for  three  blocks  in  from  the 
Gulf  was  stripped  of  every  vestige  of  habitation,  the  dwellings,  the 
great  bathing  establishments,  the  Olympia  and  ever}''  structure 
having  been  either  carried  out  to  sea  or  its  ruins  piled  in  a  pyramid 
far  into  the  town,  according  to  the  vagaries  of  the  tempest.  The 
first  hurried  glance  over  the  city  showed  that  the  largest  structures, 
supposed  to  be  the  most  substantially  built,  suffered  the  greatest. 

"  The  Orphans'  Home,  Twenty-first  street  and  Avenue  M,  fell 
like  a  house  of  cards.  How  many  dead  children  and  refugees  are 
in  the  ruins  could  not  be  ascertained.  Of  the  sick  in  St.  Mary's 
Infirmary,  together  with  the  attendants,  only  eight  are  understood 
« to  have  been  saved.  The  Old  Woman's  Home,  on  Roosenbnrg 
aveue,  collapsed,  and  the  Roosenburg  School-house  is  a  mass  of 
wreckage.  The  Ball  High  School  is  but  an  empty  shell,  crushed 
and  broken.  Every  church  in  the  city,  with  possibl}'^  one  or  twi.- 
exceptions,  is  in  ruins. 

"  At  the  forts  nearly  all  the  soldiers  are  reported  dead,  they 


A    NKiH  1    OK    HORRORS.  35 

having  been  in  temporan^  quarters,  wliicli  gave  tliem  no  protection 
against  the  tempest  or  flood.  No  report  has  been  received  from  the 
Catholic  Orphan  Asylum  down  the  island,  but  it  seems  impossible 
that  it  could  have  withstood  the  hurricane.  If  it  fell,  all  the 
inmates  were,  no  doubt,  lost,  for  there  was  no  aid  within  a  mile. 

"  The  bay  front  from  end  to  end  is  in  ruins.  Nothing  but 
piling  and  the  wreck  of  great  warehouses  remain.  The  elevators 
lost  all  their  superworks,  and  their  stocks  are  damaged  b}^  water. 
The  life-saving  station  at  Fort  Point  was  carried  away,  the  crew 
being  swept  across  the  ba}^  fourteen  miles  to  Texas  City.  I  saw 
Captain  Haynes,  and  he  told  me  that  his  wife  and  one  of  his  crev/ 
^«eie  drowned. 

WRECKAGE    SWEPT    ACROSS    THE    BAY. 

■'  The  shore  at  Texas  Cit}^  contains  enough  wreckage  to 
rebuild  a  cit}^  Eight  persons  who  were  swept  across  the  bay 
during  the  storm  were  picked  up  there  alive.  Five  corpses  were 
also  picked  up.  There  were  three  fatalities  in  Texas  City.  In 
addition  to  the  living  and  the  dead  which  the  storm  cast  up  at 
Texas  Cit}^,  caskets  and  coffins  from  one  of  the  cemeteries  at 
Galveston  were  being  fished  out  of  the  water  there  yesterday.  In 
the  business  portion  of  the  city  two  large  brick  buildings,  one 
occupied  b}^  Knapp  Brothers  and  the  other  by  the  Cotton  Exchange 
saloon,  collapsed.  In  the  Cotton  Exchange  saloon  there  were  about 
fifteen  persons.     Most  of  them  escaped. 

"  The  cotton  mills,  the  bagging  factor}^,  the  gas  works,  the 
electric  light  works  and  nearly  all  the  industrial  establishments  of 
the  city  are  either  wrecked  or  crippled.  The  flood  left  a  slime  about 
one  inch  deep  over  the  whole  city,  and  unless  fast  progress  is  made 
in  burying  corpses  and  carcasses  of  animals  there  is  danger  of 
pestilence.  Some  of  the  stories  of  the  escapes  are  miraculous. 
William  Nisbett,  a  cotton  man,  was  buried  in  the  ruins  of  the 
Cotton  Exchange  saloon,  and  when  dug  out  in  the  morning  had  no 
further  injur}^  than  a  few  bruised  fingers. 

"  Dr.  vS.  O.  Young,  Secretary  of  the  Cotton  Exchange,  was 
knocked  senseless  when  his  house  collapsed,  but  was  revived  by 


jH  a  night  of  horrors. 

Liie  water,  and  was  carried  ten  blocks  by  the  hurricane.  A  woman 
who  had  just  given  birth  to  a  child  was  carried  from  her  home  to 
a  house  a  block  distant,  the  men  who  were  carrying  her  having  to 
hold  her  high  above  heads,  as  the  water  was  five  feet  deep  when 
ihe  was  moved. 

"  Many  stories  were   current  of  houses   falling  and  inmates 
escaping.     Clarence  N.  Ousley,  editor  of  the  Evening  Tribune, 
had  his  family  and  the  families  of  two  neighbors  in  his  house  when, 
the  lower  half  crumbled  and  the  upper  part  slipped  down  into  the 
water.     No  one  in  the  house  was  hurt. 

"The  Mistrot  House,  in  the  West  End,  was  turned  into  a  hos- 
pital. All  of  the  regular  hospitals  of  the  city  were  unavailable. 
Of  the  new  Southern  Pacific  Works  little  remains  but  the  piling. 
Half  a  million  feet  of  lumber  was  carried  away,  and  Engineer 
Boschke  says,  as  far  as  the  company  is  concerned,  it  might  as  well 
start  over  again. 

EIGHT  OCEAN  STEAMERS  STRANDED. 

"  Eight  ocean  steamers  were  torn  from  their  moorings  anQ 
stranded  in  the  bay.  The  Kendall  Castle  was  carried  over  the 
fiats  at  Thirty-third  street  wharf  to  Texas  Cit}-,  and  lies  in  the 
wreckage  of  the  Innian  pier.  The  Norwegian  steamer  G3dler  is 
stranded  between  Texas  City  and  Virginia  Point.  An  ocean  liner 
was  swirled  around  through  the  west  bay,  crashed  througli  ^lie  bay 
bridges,  and  is  now  lying  in  a  few  feet  of  water  near  the  wreckage 
of  the  railroad  bridges. 

"  The  steamship  Taunton  was  carried  across  Pelican  Point  and 
is  stranded  about  ten  miles  up  the  east  bay.  The  IVIallory  steamer 
Alamo  was  torn  from  her  wharf  and  dashed  upon  Pelican  fiats,  and 
against  the  bow  of  the  British  steamer  Red  Cross,  which  had  pre^ 
viously  been  hurled  there.  The  stern  of  the  Alamo  is  stove  in 
and  the  bow  of  the  Red  Cross  is  crushed.  Down  the  channel  to 
the  jetties  two  other  ocean  steamships  lie  grounded.  Some  schoon- 
ers, barges  and  smaller  craft  are  strewn  bottom  side  up  along  the 
slips  /the  piers.  The  tug  Louise,  of  the  Houston  Direct  Naviga- 
tion Company,  is  also  a  wreck 


A   NIGHT   OF   HORRORS.  3? 

"  It  will  take  a  week  to  tabulate  the  dead  and  the  missing  and 
to  get  anything  near  an  approximate  idea  of  the  monetary  loss. 
It  is  safe  to  assume  that  one-half  the  property  of  the  city  is  wiped 
out,  and  that  one-half  of  the  residents  have  to  face  absolute  poverty. 

"  At  Texas  City  three  of  the  residents  were  drowned.  One 
man  stepped  into  a  well  by  a  mischance  and  his  corpse  was  found 
there.  Two  other  men  ventured  along  the  bay  front  during  the 
height  of  the  storm  and  were  killed.  There  are  but  few  buildings 
at  Texas  City  that  do  not  tell  the  story  of  the  storm.  The  hotel 
is  a  complete  ruin.  The  of&ce  of  the  Texas  City  Company  was 
almost  entirely  destroyed.  Nothing  remains  of  the  piers  except 
the  piling. 

"  The  wreckage  from  Galveston  litters  the  shore  for  miles  and 
is  a  hundred  yards  wide.  For  ten  miles  inland  from  the  shore  it 
is  a  common  sight  to  see  small  craft,  such  as  steam  launches, 
schooners  and  oyster  sloops.  The  life  boat  of  the  life-saving  sta- 
tion was  carried  half  a  mile  inland,  while  a  vessel  that  was  anchored 
in  Moses  Bayou  lies  high  and  dry  five  miles  up  from  La  Marquet. 

MULTITUDES    SWEPT    OUT   TO    SEA. 

"  From  Virginia  Point  north  and  south  along  the  bay  front, 
at  such  places  as  Texas  City,  Dickinson,  Hitchcock,  Seabrook, 
Alvin  and  a  dozen  small  intermediate  points,  the  number  of  dead 
bodicv^  .gathered  up  by  rescue  trains  and  sailing  craft  had  rtached 
at  noon  more  than  700.  This  is  only  a  small  scope  of  the  country 
devastated,  and  it  is  feared  the  death  list  from  the  storm  will  ulti- 
mately show  not  less  than  5000  victims.  Hundreds  have  been 
swept  out  to  sea  who  will  never  be  accounted  for.  Two  mass 
meetings  were  held  at  Dallas,  and  many  thousands  of  dollars  were 
subscribed  for  the  relief  of  the  Texas  Gulf  coast  storm  sufferers." 

The  towns  of  Sabine  Pass  and  Port  Arthur,  news  from  which 
was  anxiously  awaited,  passed  through  the  terrific  storm  virtually 
unscathed.  At  Port  Arthur  the  water  spread  over  the  town,  but  it 
did  not  reach  a  depth  sufficient  to  destroy  buildings.  The  town 
pleasure  pier  was  washed  away  completely,  as  was  also  the  pier  in 
front  of  the  Gales  and  Klwood  Homes.     The  dredge  Florida,  prop- 


58  A    NIGHT   OF   HORRORS. 

erty  of  the  New  York  Dredging  Company,  which  cut  the  Port 
Arthur  Channel,  sunk  at  the  mouth  of  Ta3'lor  Bayou.  No  other 
properl}'-  of  consequence  was  injured. 

At  Sabine  Pass  the  water  reached  a  depth  of  about  three  feet, 
but  nothing  except  small  buildings  near  the  water-front  were 
washed  away.  Several  mud-scows  and  sloops  were  washed  ashore. 
The  Southern  Pacific  wharves  and  warehouses  were  not  damaged 
in  the  least.  The  railroad  between  Beaumont  and  Sabine  Pass  was 
under  water  for  a  distance  of  twelve  miles,  but  not  more  than  four 
miles  were  washed  out.  The  life-saving  station  of  Sabine  Pass  was 
washed  from  its  blocks,  but  the  light  tower  was  not  damaged. 
There  was  considerable  damage  at  Sabine  Pass  by  water  rising  into 
the  streets. 

ARMY  TENTS  AND  RATIONS  FOR  THE  SUFFERERS. 

The  officers  of  the  National  Government  took  steps  at  once  to 
render  all  possible  aid  and  assistance  to  the  flood-sufferers  of 
Texas.  The  President  sent  telegrams  of  sympathy  to  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State  and  the  Mayor  of  Galveston,  and  promised  to 
render  all  possible  relief.  Adjutant-General  Corbin  also  tele- 
graphed instructions  to  General  McKibbin,  commanding  the  De- 
partment of  Texas  at  San  Antonio,  to  proceed  to  Galveston  and 
investigate  the  character  and  extent  of  the  damage  caused  by  the 
hurricane,  and  to  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War  what  steps  were 
necessary  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the  people  and  improve  the 
situation. 

Battery  O,  First  Artillery,  which  garrisoned  Fort  San  Jacinto, 
was  commanded  by  Captain  William  C.  Rafferty.  First  Lieutenant 
Lassiter  was  on  detail  duty  at  West  Point,  but  the  Second  Lieu- 
tenant, J.  C.  Nichols,  was  with  his  company  during  the  storm.  Act- 
ing Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Spalding  ordered  two  revenue  cutters, 
one  at  Norfolk  and  one  at  Wilmington,  N.  C,  to  proceed  at  once  to 
Mobile,  Ala.,  and  there  await  orders.  They  were  needed  in  sup- 
plying food  and  tents  to  the  storm-sufferers. 

Governor  Sayers,  of  Texas,  applied  to  the  War  Department 
fpr   xo,ooo  tents  and    50,000  rations    for  immediate  use  for  the 


A    NIGHT    OF    HORRORS.  39 

sufferers.  Acting  Secretary  Meiklejohn  issued  an  order  granting 
the  request.  The  tents  were  sent  from  San  x'Vntonio  and  Jefferson 
Barracks,  Missouri.  A  large  portion  of  the  rations  was  procured 
at  San  Antonio. 

AN    APPEAL    FROM    HOUSTON. 

The  following  telegrams  passed  between  the  White  House  and 
Texas : 

"  Houston,  Texas,  September  lo. — William  McKinley,  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  Washington,  D.  C. :  I  have  been  depu- 
tized by  the  Mayor  and  Citizens'  Committee  of  Galveston  to  inform 
you  that  the  city  of  Galveston  is  in  ruins,  and  certainly  man}- 
hundreds,  if  not  a  thousand,  are  dead.  The  tragedy  is  one  of  the 
most  frightful  in  recent  times.  Help  must  be  given  by  the  State 
and  Nation  or  the  suffering  will  be  appalling.  Food,  clothing  and 
money  will  be  needed  at  once.  The  whole  south  side  of  the  city 
for  three  blocks  in  from  the  Gulf  is  swept  clear  of  every  building, 
the  whole  wharf  front  is  a  wreck  and  but  few  houses  in  the  city  are 
really  habitable.  The  water  supply  is  cut  off  and  the  food  stock 
damaged  by  salt  water.  All  bridges  are  washed  away,  and  stranded 
steamers  litter  the  bay.  When  I  left  this  moring  the  search  for 
bodies  had  begun.  Corpses  were  everywhere.  Tempest  blew 
eighty-four  miles  an  hour,  and  then  carried  Government  instru- 
ments away.  At  same  time  waters  of  Gulf  were  over  whole  city, 
having  risen  twelve  feet.  Water  has  now  subsided,  and  the  survi- 
vors are  left  helpless  among  the  wreckage,  cut  off  from  the  world 
except  by  boat.  Richard  Spillank." 

"  Washington,  September  lo. — Hon.  J.  D.  Sayers,  Governor  of 
Texas,  Austin,  Texas  :  The  reports  of  the  great  calamity  which 
has  befallen  Galveston  and  other  points  on  the  coast  of  Texas 
excite  my  profound  sympathy  for  the  sufferers,  as  the\^  will  stir 
the  hearts  of  the  whole  country.  Whatever  help  it  is  possible  to 
give  shall  be  gladly  extended.  Have  directed  the  Secretary  of 
War  to  supply  rations  and  tents  upon  your  request. 

''  William  McKinley." 


A,n  A    NIGHT   OF    HORRORS. 

A  copy  of  this  telegram  was  sent  to  the  Mayor  of  Galveston 
as  well  as  to  Governor  Sayers. 

"  Austin,  Texas,  September  lo. — The  President,  Washington  : 

V^ery  many  thanks  for  your  telegram.    Your  action  will  be  greatly 

appreciated  and  gratefully  remembered  by  the   people   of    Texas 

I  have  this  day  requested  the  Secretary  of  War  to  forward  rations 

and  tents  to  Galveston.  Josprph  D.  SayerS, 

"Governor  of  Texas." 

CLARA  BARTON  READY  FOR  RELIEF  ^A^ORK. 

Miss  Clara  Barton  issued  the  following  appeal  in  behalf  of  the 
Texas  sufferers : 

"The  American  National  Red  Cross,  at  Washington,  D.  C,  is 
appealed  to  on  all  sides  for  help  and  for  the  privilege  to  help  in 
the  terrible  disaster  which  has  befallen  Southern  and  Central 
Texas.  It  remembers  the  floods  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  of 
Johnstown,  and  of  Port  Royal,  with  their  thousands  of  dead  and 
months  of  suffering  and  needed  relief,  and  turns  confidently  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  Avhose  sympath}^  has  never  failed  to 
help  provide  the  relief  that  is  asked  of  it  now.  Nineteen  years  of 
experience  on  nearly  as  many  fields  renders  the  obligations  of  the 
P.ed  Cross  all  the  greater.  The  people  have  long  learned  its 
work,  and  it  must  again  open  its  accustomed  avenues  for  their 
charities.  It  does  not  beseech  them  to  give,  for  their  sympathies 
are  as  deep  and  their  humanity  as  great  as  its  own,  but  it  pledges 
to  them  faithful  old-time  Red  Cross  relief  work  among  the  stricken 
victims  of  these  terrible  fields  of  suffering  and  death. 

"  He  gives  twice  who  gives  quickly. 

'^  Contributions  may  be  wired  or  sent  by  mail  to  our  Treasurer, 
William  J.  Flather,  Assistant  Cashier  Riggs  National  Bank,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. ;  also  to  the  local  Red  Cross  committees  of  the  Red 
Cross  India  Famine  Fund,  at  156  Fifth  avenue.  New  York  City,  and 
the  Louisiana  Red  Cross  of  New  Orleans,  both  of  whom  will  report 
all  donations  for  immediate  acknowledgment  by  us. 

"Clara  Barton, 

"President  National  American  Red  Cross." 


A    NIOHT    Ol'    HORI^ORS.  41 

Miss  Barton  telegraphed  Governor  Sayers,  at  Austin,  Tex.,  as 
follows : 

"  Do  you  need  the  Red  Cross  in  Texas  ?     We  are  ready." 

THE    DESTRUCTION    INLAND. 

Later  details  show  that  from  Red  River  on  the  north  to  the 
Gulf  on  the  south  and  throughout  the  central  part  of  the  State, 
Texas  was  storm-swept  by  a  hurricane  which  laid  waste  property, 
caused  large  loss  of  life,  and  effectually  blocked  all  telegraphic  and 
telephonic  communication  south,  while  the  operation  of  trains  was 
seriousl}^  handicapped. 

Starting  with  the  hurricane  which  visited  Galveston  and  the 
Gulf  coast  Saturday  noon,  and  v/hich  was  still  prevailing  there  to 
such  an  extent  that  no  communication  could  be  had  with  the  island 
to  ascertain  what  the  loss  to  life  and  property  was,  the  storm  made 
rapid  inroads  into  the  centre  of  the  State,  stopping  long  enough  at 
Houston  to  damage  over  half  of  the  buildings  of  that  city. 

Advancing  inland,  the  storm  swept  into  Hempstead,  iifty  miles 
above  Houston,  thence  to  Chappell  Hill,  twenty  miles  further; 
thence  to  Brenham,  thirty  miles  further,  wrecking  all  three  towns. 
Several  persons  were  killed. 

The  Brazos  bottom  suffered  a  large  share  of  damage  at  the 
hands  of  the  hurricant,  and  was  swept  for  fully  lOO  miles  of  its 
length,  everything  being  turned  topsy-turvy  by  the  high  winds,  and 
much  destruction  resulting  to  crops  as  well  as  farm-house  property. 
The  winds  were  accompanied  b}-  a  heavy  rainfall,  which  served  to 
add  to  the  horror  of  midnight.  The  telegraph  and  telephone  com- 
panies have  large  forces  of  men  trying  to  rig  up  wires  to  Galveston. 
The  storm  seems  to  have  swept  all  the  tableland  clear  of  ever3^thing 
on  it,  razing  houses  to  the  ground  and  tearing  up  trees  by  the  roots. 
It  also  swept  into  the  mountain  gorges  and  there  inflicted  the  worst 
damage,  and  considerable  loss  of  life  was  reported  from  that  sec- 
tion. From  Southwest  Texas  and  points  along  the  Gulf  to  the  cit}^ 
of  Galveston  the  reports  were  alarming.  A  number  of  parties  sum- 
mering at  various  points  along  the  coast  were  not  heard  from.  The 
cotton  was  nearly  ruined,  as  the  storm  swept  the  cotton-belt. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Incidents  of  the  Awful  Hurricane — Unparalleled  Atrocities 
by  Lawless  Hordes — Earnest  Appeals  for  Help. 

ON  September  nth,  the  Mayor  of  Galveston  forwarded  the 
followdng  address   to  the  people  of  the  United  States : 

"  It  is  my  opinion,  based  on  personal  information,  that  500O 
people  have  lost  their  lives  here.  Approximately  one-third  of  the 
residence  portion  of  the  city  has  been  swept  away. 

''There  are  several  thousand  people  who  are  homeless  and 
destitute.  How  many,  there  is  no  way  of  finding  out.  Arrange- 
ments are  now  being  made  to  have  the  women  and  children  sent 
to  Houston  and  other  places,  but  the  means  of  transportation  are 
limited.  Thousands  are  still  to  be  cared  for  here.  We  appeal  to 
you  for  immediate  aid.  WALTER  C.  JONES." 

On  the  same  date  the  following  statement  of  condition*  at 
Galveston  and  appeal  for  aid  was  issued  by  the  local  relief  com- 
mittee : 

"A  conservative  estimate  of  the  loss  of  life  is  that  it  will 
reach  at  least  5,000,  and  at  least  that  number  of  families  are 
shelterless  and  wholly  destitute.  The  entire  remainder  of  the 
population  is  suffering  in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  Not  a  single 
church,  school  or  charitable  institution,  of  which  Galveston  had 
so  many,  is  left  intact.  Not  a  building  escaped  damage,  and  half 
the  whole  number  were  entirely  obliterated.  There  is  immediate 
need  for  food,  clothing  and  household  goods  of  all  kinds.  If 
nearby  cities  will  open  asylums  for  women  and  children,  the  situ- 
ation will  be  greatly  relieved.  Coast  cities  should  send  us  water,, 
as  well  as  provisions,  including  kerosene,  oil,  gasoline  and 
candles. 

"W.    C.   Jones,    mayor;  M.    Lasker,    president    Island    City 
Saving  Bank  ;  J.  D.  Skinner,  president  Cotton  Exchange ;  C.   H. 
IVIcMaster,    for  Chamber  of   Commerce;    R.   G.    Lowe,   manager 
•   42 


INCIDENV5    Or    THE   AWFUL    HURRICANE.  43 

Galveston  News*  Clarence  Owsley,  manager  Galveston  Tri- 
bune." 

The  white  cotton  screw  men's  organization  held  a  meeting 
and  tendered  their  services,  that  of  500  able  bodied  men,  to  ihe 
public  committee  to  clear  the  streets  of  debris.  Big  forces  went 
to  work,  and  the  situation  was  much  improved  so  far  as  the 
passage  of  vessels  was  concerned.  The  city  was  patrolled  by 
regular  soldiers  and  citizen  soldiery.  No  one  was  allowed  on  the 
streets  without  a  pass.  Several  negroes  were  shot  for  not  halting 
when  ordered. 

The  steamer  Lawrence  arrived  here  early  on  the  morning  of 
the  nth,  from  Houston,  with  water  and  provisions.  A  committee 
of  one  hundred  citizens  were  aboard,  among  them  being  doctors 
and  cooks.  W.  G.  Van  Vleck,  General  Manager  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad,  arrived  at  the  same  time.  He  thought  it  would 
be  possible  to  establish  mail  service  from  Houston  to  Texas  ^^ity 
by  night,  with  transfer  boats  to  Galveston. 

BODIES  BEING  BURIED  IN  TRENCHES. 

It  was  found  to  be  impossible  to  send  bodies  to  sea  for  burial. 
The  water  receded  so  far,  however,  that  it  was  possible  to  dig 
trenches,  and  bodies  were  being  buried  where  found.  Debris  cov- 
ering bodies  was  being  burned  where  it  could  be  done  safely. 

Work  on  the  water  works  was  rushed,  and  it  was  hoped  to  be 
able  to  turn  a  supply  on  in  the  afternoon. 

Outside  of  Galveston  smaller  towns  were  beginning  to  send 
in  reports  as  telegraphic  communication  improved,  and  many 
additions  to  the  list  of  the  dead  and  property  losses  were  received. 
Richmond  and  Hitchcock  each  reported  sixteen  lives  lost.  Alto 
Ivoma,  Arcadia,  Velasco,  Seabrooke,  Belleville,  Areola  and  many 
othv:r  towns  had  from  one  to  eight  dead.  In  most  of  these  places 
many  houses  were  totally  destroyed  and  thousands  of  head  of  live' 
stock  killed. 

The  railroads  alone  suffered  millions  of  dollars  in  actual 
damage,  to  say  nothing  of  the  loss  from  stoppage  of  business. 
The  International  and  Great  Northern  and  Santa  Fe  had  miles  of 


44  INCIDENTS   OF   THE   AWFUL    HURRICANE. 

track  washed  out,  and  the  bridges  connecting  Galveston  with   the 
mainland  must  be  entirely  rebuilt. 

The  following  is  the  description  of  an  eye-witness  on  Se*>tem- 
ber  II :  "  Galveston  is  almost  wiped  off  the  earth.  Fifteen  thou- 
sand persons  are  homeless.  The  loss  of  life  will  reach  into  the 
thousands.     Bodies  are  piled  everywhere. 

"  When  daylight  broke  over  the  expanse  of  floating  bodies, 
rubbish  heaps  and  ruins  were  all  that  remained  of  the  prosperous 
cit}'-.  A  few  leading  citizens  assembled  in  several  feet  of  water 
at  a  street  corner  and  called  a  meeting  at  the  Tremont  Hall,  to 
which  they  adjourned.  A  committee  of  Public  Safety  of  (ifteen 
leading  citizens  was  formed,  and  Colonel  J.  H.  Hawley,  one  of 
the  best  known  men  in  Texas,  was  made  chairman.  Ke,  with 
Mayor  Walter  C.  Jones  and  Ch.'ef  of  Police  Edward  Ketch uni, 
formed  a  triumvirate,  with  absolute  power,  and  declared  the  city 
under  martial  law. 

MILITARY    FORCES    AND    SPECIAL    POLICE. 

"They  issued  a  commission  to  Major  L.  R.  D.  Fayling, 
which  made  him  commander-in-chief  of  all  military  forces  and 
special  deputies  of  police,  and  only  subject  to  the  orders  of  the 
Mayor  and  the  Chief  of  Police.  Mayor  Fayling  was  authorized 
to  requisition  any  men  or  property  he  may  require  for  his  force, 
and  his  receipt  will  be  honored  by  the  city  of  Galveston  and  any 
such  property  paid  for  by  the  city. 

"  As  soon  as  Major  Fa3'ling  received  his  authority  he  col- 
lected a  handful  of  half-na'ced,  barefooted  soldiers,  clothed  them, 
supplied  them  with  food  and  put  them  under  command  of  Captain 
Edward  Rogers.  Around  this  nucleus  of  a  force  he  has  built  up 
to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  situation  his  present  force  of  three 
full  companies  of  volunteer  soldiers  and  a  troop  of  cavalry. 

"A  horde  of  negroes  and  whites — even  white  women — were 
in  the  ruins  of  the  city.  They  were  robbing  the  dead  and  dying, 
killing  those  who  resisted,  cutting  off  fingers  to  obtain  rings  and 
ears  to  obtain  earrings.  Drunken  men  reeled  about  the  streets 
intimidating  citizens. 


INCIDENTS   OF   THE   AWFUL    HURRICANE.  4.j 

"  Chief  of  Police  Ketchuin  ordered  the  sale  of  liquor  stopped, 
and  began  to  swear  in  hundreds  of  special  policemen  to  rescue  the 
wounded,  feed  the  living  and  convc}'  tln^  dead  to  a  hundred  difter- 
ent  morgues.  He  worked  for  thirt3'-six  hours  without  going  honic^ 
to  inquire  about  his  famil3'''s  fate,  which  was  in  doubt.  Wheu 
told  he  should  do  so  he  replied,  characteristically,  '  God  will  be 
good  to  me  and  mine,  for  I  am  going  to  be  good  to  others.' 

THE    STENCH    UNBEARABLE. 

"  The  stench  from  the  dead  by  Monday  morning  was  unbear- 
able. The  triumvirate  ruling  the  city  pressed  citizens  into  service 
to  take  the  dead  out  in  barges  and  bury  them  in  the  Gulf  The 
soldiers  impressed  into  service,  at  the  point  of  the  baj^onet,  every 
wagon  that  came  along  and  every  negro  to  assist  in  throwing  the 
dead  into  the  sea.     It  was  impossible  to  give  other  burial. 

"  From  the  stench  which  pervades  the  cit}^  it  is  apparent  that 
hundreds  of  bodies  yet  lie  under  the  ruins.  The  sun  is  hottei 
than  in  July.  The  regular  soldiers,  who  had  been  working  for 
two  da3^s  with  bloody  feet,  were  utterly  exhausted  by  IMonda}- 
evening,  and  v/ere  assembled  by  Captain  Raiferty  and  put  in  a 
hastily  extemporized  hospital,  which  was  formerly  a  church. 
Their  places  were  filled  by  Major  Fayling  with  new  recruits, 
whom  he  drafted  on  the  streets  and  supplied  with  arms  and  equip- 
ment from  the  local  armory. 

"Kvery  part  of  the  city  was  patrolled  by  6  o'clock  in  the 
evening.  Among  mau}^  other  incidents  of  last  night  was  the 
besieging  of  the  squad  guarding  St.  Mary's  Hospital.  They 
were  surrounded  by  a  horde  of  armed  negro  thieves.  Several 
hundred  shots  were  exchanged.  Sergeant  Camp  killed  four 
negroes  with  his  rifle,  and  about  ten  or  twelve  were  killed  by  the 
squad.  The  soldiers  have  since  been  picketing  the  ctty,  doing 
fourteen  hours'  duty  without  rest.  Every  hour  during  the  night 
a  fresh  negro  shooting  was  reported  at  headquarters. 

"The  tug  'Juno  '  and  the  propeller  '  Lawrence'  brought  2000 
gallons  of  water  here  from  Houston  but  the  supply  is  not  enough  to 
go  arouud,  and  half  the  population  is  without  auy  water.     Break- 


46  INCIDENTS    OF   THE    AWFU:.    HURRICANE. 

fast  at  the  $4  per  da}'  hotel  Tremoiil  was  served  to  a  fortuiia'.e 
few  to-da}^,  and  consisted  of  a  small  piece  of  bacon  and  a  single  -^np 
of  coffee.  The  hotel  was  nnteuable  3'esterday,  and  gnests  were 
refnsed.  It  is  jammed  to-day  wUli  local  citizens  who  have  been 
made  homeless.'' 

G.  W.  Ware,  teacher  of  penmanship  in  a  DaHas  edncational 
institntion,  Avas  in  Galvestou  dnring  the  hnrricane,  Re  reached 
Dallas  on  Tnesda}^,  the  iith^  and  made  the  following  statement  : 

WORK  OF  HEAPTLESS  CRIMINALS. 

"It  was  a  godsend,  the  placing  of  the  cit}^  nnder  martial  law. 
The  criminal  element  began  looting  the  dead,  and  the  coldblooded 
commercial  element  began  looting  the  living.  The  criminals 
were  stealing  an3"thing  the}^  conld  with,  safety  la}^  hands  on,  and 
the  mercenary  commercial  pirates  began  a  harvest  of  extortion. 
The  price  of  bacon  was  pnshed  np  to  50  cents  a  potmd,  bread  60 
cents  a  loaf,  and  owners  of  small  schooners  and  other  sailing  craft 
formed  a  trnst,  and  charged  $8  a  passenger  foi  transportation 
across  the  ba}^  from  the  island  to  the  mainland. 

"Mayor  Jones  and  other  men  of  conscience  were  shocked  at 
these  proceedings,  and  the  Mayor  decided  that  the  onlj^  protection 
for  the  citizens  wonld  be  to  declare  mart'al  law,  confiscate  all  food- 
stuffs and  other  necessities  for  the  common  good,  and  thus  stop 
the  lootings  and  holdups. 

"  The  price  of  bread  was  reduced  to  10  cents  a  loaf,  bacon  was 
placed  at  15  cents  a  pound,  and  the  price  of  a  voyage  across  the 
ba}'  was  set  at  $1.50  a  passenger,  A  book  account  is  being  kept 
of  all  sales  of  foodstuffs,  and  other  transactions  and  settlements 
will  be  made  at  the  scheduled  rates." 

Mr.  Quinlan,  General  Manager  of  the  Houston  and  Texas 
Central  Railroad,  said  : 

"  It  is  in  such  cases  as  this  Galveston  disaster  that  the  bar- 
barity in  some  men  is  seen.  I  have  seen  enough  in  the  last  two 
days  to  convince  me  that  a  large  element  of  civilized  mankind  are 
veneered  savages.  My  policy  would  be  to  take  nobody  into  Gal- 
vestou except  such  persons  as  are  absolutely  needed  to  administer 


INCIDENTS   OF   THE   AWFUL    HURRICANE.  47 

to  the  distressed.  Thousands  of  residents  of  Galveston  ought  to 
be  brought  out  of  there  as  fast  as  boats  can  bring  them  to  the 
mainland,  and  establish  them  in  charity  or  detention  camps  on 
high  ground,  where  they  can  get  pure  air  and  water  and  receive 
attention  which  cannot  be  given  to  them  on  the  island. 

"  I  hope  Governor  Sayres  will  find  authority  to  enforce  some 
such  policy.  This  relief  work  is  going  to  be  an  all-winter  task. 
Persons  who  have  lost  homes  and  places  of  business  must  be  taken 
charge  of  until  they  can  properly  take  care  of  themselves." 

THE    FINANCIAL    OUTCOME. 

The  effect  that  Galveston's  disaster  may  have  upon  the  finan- 
cial obligations  of  that  city  was  an  interesting  topic  among  local 
financiers.  Whether  the  bonds  will  be  paid  when  due  or  whether 
interest  default  will  result  when  coupons  are  presented  is  a  mooted 
question  in  certain  circles.  J.  B.  Adone,  banker,  of  Dallas,  and 
former  member  of  the  old  banking  firm  of  Flippin,  Adone  & 
Lobit,  of  Galveston,  said  concerning  these  points  : 

"  Galveston's  bond  and  interest  obligations  will  be  promptl}- 
met,  I  feel  sure.  If  left  to  their  own  resources  in  the  face  of  the 
present  calamity,  the  people  of  Galveston  and  their  public  officials 
would  be  probably  temporarily  embarrassed,  but  there  will  be  no 
repudiation  or  defalcation.  The  people  of  Texas  will  respond  to 
the  needs  of  Galveston  in  her  present  terrible  affliction,  and  out  of 
the  moneys  contributed  the  citj^'s  financial  credit  will  be  protected 
if  this  course  should  be  found  necessary." 

Pursuant  to  the  proclamation  of  Ma3^or  Brashear,  issued 
Sunda\^  iiiglit,  a  citizens'  meeting  was  held  in  the  city  council 
chamber  at  Houston  and  an  organization  effected  for  the  relief  of 
^he  victims  of  the  storm.  The  following  telegram  was  received 
ji))'  the  Mayor  from  Governor  Sayres : 

"Austin,  Texas,  Sept.  lo. — I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  direct- 
ing that  all  supplies  of  food  and  clothing  for  Galveston  be  shipped 
to  you.  Will  you  undertake  to  forward  them  when  received  to 
Galveston  for  distribution?     Answer  quick. 

"JOSEPH  D.   SAYRES,  Governor." 


48  INCIDENTS   OF   THE   AWFUL    HURRICANE. 

Mayor  Brashear  immediately  replied  that  all  supplies  would 
be  distributed  where  mostly  needed.  A  telegram  from  Areola  was 
received,  and  there  were  twenty-five  persons  there,  mostly  women 
and  children,  in  urgent  need  of  relief. 

TENTS   AND   RATIONS   SENT. 

Orders  were  issued  by  the  War  Department  at  Washington^ 
for  the  immediate  shipment  to  Galveston  of  855  tents  and  50,000 
rations.  These  stores  and  supplies  were  divided  between  St. 
Louis  and  San  Antonio.  This  represented  about  all  such  sup- 
plies as  the  Government  had  on  hand  at  the  places  named,  but 
it  was  stated  at  the  Department  that  the  order  could  be  duplicated 
in  a  day, 

Ma3ror  Van  Wyck,  of  New  York,  issued  an  appeal  to  the  citi- 
zens of  New  York,  on  the  nth,  for  help  for  the  sufferers  of  Galves- 
ton, heading  the  appeal  with  a  $500  subscription. 

The  Mayor  also  sent  the  following  telegram  to  Mayor 
Brashear,  of  Houston,  Texas: 

"Hon.  S.  H.  Brashear,  Mayor,  Houston,  Texas. — In  response 
to  your  telegram  I  have  issued  a  call  to  the  people  of  the  city  of 
New  York  to  contribute  to  the  relief  of  those  afflicted  by  the  dis- 
aster at  Galveston.  Please  express  to  the  Mayor  of  Galveston 
the  profound  sympathy  of  the  people  of  New  York  for  the  people 
of  Galveston  in  this  hour  of  their  distress. 

"  ROBERT  A.  VAN  WYCK,   Mayor." 

Ten  doctors  and  twenty  nurses  from  Bellevue  Hospital,  New 
York,  volunteered  to  go  to  Galveston  and  help  care  for  the  injured 
and  sick.     They  left  New  York  by  special  train  in  the  evening. 

The  following  cablegram  was  received  by  the  American  rep- 
resentative of  Sir  Thomas  Lipton  : 

"  Very  grieved  to  see  press  reports  heie  regarding  fearful 
calamity  befallen  Galveston.  Sufferers  have  my  deepest  and  most 
heartfelt  sympathy.     If  getting   up  public   subscription  will    be 

glad  to  give  $1000. 

"  UPTON.'* 


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INCIDENTS    OF   THE   AWFUL   HURRICANE.  49 

This  was  a  graceful  act  of  sympathy  from  the  gallant  yachts- 
mau  who  made  the  spirited  attempt  to  capture  the  cup  from  the 
New  York  Yacht  Club,  and  although  failing,  became  a  universal 
favorite  in  this  country. 

Official  reports  from  Galveston  to  Governor  Sayres  at  Austin, 
on  the  nth,  were  that  400  bodies  had  been  identified.  200  more 
were  in  an  improvised  morgue  awaiting  identification,  and  many 
more  were  thought  to  have  drifted  out  to  sea,  and  their  identity 
A'ill  never  be  known. 

CONDITIONS    THAI     BEGGAR    DESCRIPTION. 

A  telegram  from  Adjutant  General  Scurry,  who  was  at  Gal- 
veston, to  the  Governor,  was  as  follows: 

"  Have  just  returned  from  Texas  City  with  several  Galveston 
parties,  who  assure  me  that  conditions  there  beggar  description. 
Accounts  have  not  been  exaggerated.  While  a  portion  of  the 
provisions  has  been  destroyed  by  water  sufficient  on  hand  to 
relieve  immediate  necessities.  The  citizens  seem  to  have  the 
situation  w^ell  in  hand.  United  States  troops  and  Compau}^  C, 
volunteer  guard,  with  citizens,  patrol  the  streets  to  prevent 
looting. 

"  I  requested  W.  B.  Wortham  to  go  to  Galveston  from  Texas 
City  for  the  purpose  of  advising  me  of  the  city's  most  urgent 
needs,  and  I  returned  here  to  report  and  ask  for  further  instruc- 
tions. I  respectfully  suggest  that  the  distress  is  too  great  for 
the  people  of  Galveston,  even  with  the  assistance  of  Houston,  to 
stand,  and  that  a  general  appeal  for  help  would  be  welcomed. 
The  estimate  of  10,000  destitute  does  not  seem  to  be  excessive. 

"  From  reports  reaching  the  Governor  this  morning  it  will  be 
necessary  to  co-operate  with  the  Federal  troops  to  place  all  the 
mainland  opposite  Galveston,  as  well  as  the  island,  under  martial 
law. 

"  Thieves  have  begun  to  enter  the  city  for  the  purpose  of 
pilfering  the  bodies  of  the  dead.  The  Governor  has  been  informed 
that  the  commander  of  the  Texas  troops  has  been  ordered  to  Gal- 
veston by  the  Federal  authorities,  and  the  Governor  will  lend  him 


5U  INCIDENTS   OF   THE   AWFUL    HURRICANE. 

every  assistance  possible  with  State  militia  to  keep  vandalism 
dowu.  There  is  onl}^  one  road  operating  to  the  coast  from  Hons- 
ton,  and  that  will  be  placed  nnder  military  supervision  temporaril}-. 

"  Governor  Sa^a-es  was  in  receipt  of  a  telegram  from  Miss 
Barton,  of  the  Red  Cross  Society,  offering  the  assistance  of  that 
'association  if  necessary,  and  he  replied  that  he  would  call  on  the 
society  if  he  found  that  its  help  was  needed. 

"  A  large  number  of  State  militia  tents  were  shipped  from 
Austin  to  Galveston  for  temporary  use  on  the  island. 

MONEY   BEGINNING  TO  POUR  IN. 

"Governor  Sayres  received  upward  of  looo  telegrams  during 
the  day  from  parties  in  the  East  and  West  offering  assistance  to 
the  flood  sufferers  at  Galveston,  and  from  various  portions  of  the 
State  reporting  the  collection  of  money  and  supplies.  During 
the  day  Governor  vSayres  estimated  that  the  receipts  in  nione}^ 
from  collections  in  Texas  would  amount  to  55^15,000,  though  from 
reports  a  great  deal  of  money  has  been  sent  direct  to  Galveston 
instead  of  coming  through  the  Governor,  and  the  amount  ma}^  be- 
murh  larger  than  that  stated. 

"Quite  a  number  of  Eastern  newspapers  are  wiring  the 
Governor  offering  to  establish  themselves  as  bureaus  for  relief 
funds  if  desired  and  asking  what  they  can  do  to  relieve  the  situ- 
ation. A  telegram  from  New  York  informed  the  Governor  that 
two  relief  trains  of  supplies  had  left  New  York  for  Galveston. 
The  Cincinnati  Chamber  of  Commerce  wires  that  it  will  send  an}'- 
relief  desired  that  it  can  give.  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis 
and  several  other  points  did  likewise." 

Acting  Secretar}'  Meiklejohn  of  the  War  Department  at 
Washington  authorized  the  chartering  of  a  special  train  from  St. 
Louis  to  carry  quartermaster's  and  commissary  supplies  to  the 
relief  of  the  destitute  at  Galveston. 

The  following  telegram  was  received  : 

"  Galveston,  Texas,  Sept.  9,  1900. — Quartermaster  General, 
Washington.-'-]  report   terrific  c/olone  with   an  eleven    foot  tide. 


INCIDENTS   OF    T]1E   AWFUL    HURRICANE.  61 

All  improvements,   temporary  bnildiugs,  property  and  stores  at 
both  Jacinto  and  Crockett  destroyed  and  swept  clean. 

''BAXTER,  Quartermaster." 

A  second  telegram  followed : 

''Galveston,  Texas,  Sept.  ii,  1900. — Referring  to  my  tele- 
gram of  yesterday,  via  Houston,  I  urgently  recommend  that  fair 
compensation  be  made  to  contractors  for  their  losses,  and  that 
they  be  relieved  of  their  contracts.  If  fortifications  are  rebuilt  at 
or  near  their  present  sites  I  urgently  recommend  that  quarters  for 
Iroops  be  purchased  and  built  on  higher  ground  in  the  city,  cen- 
,  trail}'  located.  Wharves  destroyed;  all  railroad  bridges  swept  away 
and  building  operations  of  any  nature  cannot  be  resumed  under 
six  weeks  or  two  months." 

A  VOICE  FROM  JOHNSTOWN. 

Mayor  Woodruff,  of  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  issued  the 
following  proclamation:  "Later  and  more  definite  information  of 
the  fearful  destruction  of  life  and  property  at  Galveston  and  other 
places  in  Texas  recalls  to  our  attention  the  awful  calamity  in 
Johnstown  and  vicinit}'  eleven  years  ago.  Whole  squares  of 
homes  have  been  swept  awa}^^  hundreds  of  dead  are  lying  uu- 
buried  and  thousands  of  people  destitute.  This  would  be  a  fit- 
ting time  to  show  our  gratitude  for  what  the  world  did  for  us  in 
the  hour  of  need.  Any  contributions  left  at  the  banks  in  this 
cit}^  will  be  acknowledged  and  promptly  forwarded  to  the  author- 
ities in  charge  of  the  Avork  of  relief  Already  over  f  200  without 
any  "aU  for  aid  has  been  subscribed  to  a  relief  fund." 

A  special  despatch  from  Galveston  tells  the  following  story  of 
the  great  calamit}-,  showing  that  scarcely  a  building  was  undam- 
aged or  a  faniil}^  that  did  not  lose  one  or  more  members.  It  is 
roughh'  estimated  that  the  death  list  will  approximate  6,000  and 
ihe  property  loss  will  be  many  millions.  Scarcely  a  building  iu 
the  cit}^  escaped  injury  and  the  loss  on  stocks  of  goods  cannot  be 
estimated.  All  the  extreme  eastern  and  southern  part  and  the 
western  portion,  south  of  avenue  Q,  to  the  Gulf,  is  either  washed 
away  or  demolished  and  the  dead    are   thrown  in    ever}^  direction. 


.02  INCIDENTS   OF   THE   AWFUL   HURRICANE. 

These  are  being  rapidl}^  gathered  up  and  taken  to  temporary 
morgues  on  the  strand. 

Whole  families  are,  in  many  instances,  wiped  out  of  exist- 
ence. There  is  scarcely  a  family  in  the  district  mentioned  that 
did  not  lose  one  or  more  members,  while  the  hospitals  are  crowded 
with  wounded  beyond  their  capacity,  and  the  count}^  court  house 
is  being  converted  into  a  hospital  for  their  care. 

The  Catholic  hospital  down  the  island,  was  completel}^ 
demolished.     All  the  Sisters  and  ninety  inmates  were  drowned. 

The  waves  dashed  over  and  flooded  Fort  San  Jacinto,  demol- 
ishing the  barracks,  officers'  quarters,  and  drowning  fourteen 
privates,  two  buglers,  and  First  Sergeant  of  Company  O,,  First 
Artillery. 

BUILDINGS  DESTROYED  BY  THE  FLOOD. 

The  Opera  House,  City  Hall,  Masonic  Temple,  Mood3^'s 
Bank  Building,  Knapp's  publishing  house,  and  Ritter's  saloon 
and  restaurant,  on  the  strand,  are  wrecked.  From  the  latter  seven 
dead  bodies  were  removed  from  beneath  the  debris. 

Parties  are  engaged  in  removing  the  debris  of  the  Knapp 
Building.  Beneath  they  expect  to  find  the  body  of  Oscar  Knapp, 
senior  member  of  the  firm.  Richard  D.  Swann,  cashier  of  John 
D.  Rogers  &  Co.,  was  drowned  during  the  height  of  the  storm 
while  heroically  attempting  to  rescue  two  ladies  from  drowning. 
It  will  be  days  before  the  full  extent  of  the  frightful  disaster  is 
known  or  a  correct  list  of  the  dead  is  obtainable.  A  meeting  of 
citizens  was  held  to-day  and  a  general  committee,  with  the  AIa3^or 
as  chairman,  was  appointed.  Sub-committees  on  Finance,  Relief, 
Burial  of  the  Dead,  and  Hospitals  were  appointed,  and  are  now 
actively  at  work  to  relieve  the  distress  prevailing  and  give  deceu^ 
burials  to  the  dead. 

The  terrific  cyclone  that  produced  such  a  distressing  disaster 
in  Galveston  and  all  through  Texas  was  predicted  by  the  United 
States  Weather  Bureau  to  strike  Galveston  Friday  night  and  cre- 
ated much  apprehension,  but  the  night  passed  without  the  predic- 
tion being  verified.     The    conditions,  however,  were  ominous,  the 


INCIDENTS   OF   THE    AWFUL    HURRICANE.  53 

danger  signal  was  displax^ed  on  the  flag  staff  of  the  Weather 
Bureau,  shipping  was  warned,  etc.  The  southeastern  sky  was 
sombre,  the  Gulf  beat  high  on  the  beach  with  that  dismal  thun- 
derous roar  that  presaged  trouble,  while  the  air  had  a  stillness  that 
betokens  a  storm.  From  out  of  the  north,  in  the  middle  watches 
of  the  night,  the  wind  began  to  come  in  spiteful  puffs,  increasing 
in  volume  as  the  day  dawned. 

By  ten  o'clock  Saturday  morning  it  was  almost  a  gale ;  at 
noon  it  had  increased  in  velocity  and  was  driving  the  rain,  whip- 
ping the  pools  and  tearing  things  up  in  a  lively  manner,  3^et  no 
serious  apprehension  was  felt  by  residents  remote  from  the 
encroachments  of  the  Gulf  Residents  near  the  beach  were 
aroused  to  the  danger  that  threatened  their  homes.  Stupendous 
-v/aves  began  to  send  their  waters  far  inland  and  the  people  began 
a  hasty  exit  to  secure  places  in  the  city. 

TWO  GIGANTIC  FORCES  AT  WORK. 

Two  gigantic  forces  were  at  work.  The  Gulf  force  drove  the 
waves  with  irrestible  force  high  upon  the  beach,  and  the  gale 
from  the  northeast  pitched  the  waters  against  and  over  the 
wharves,  choking  the  sewers  and  flooding  the  city  from  that 
quarter.  The  streets  rapidly  began  to  fill  with  water,  communi- 
cation became  difficult  and  the  helpless  people  were  caught 
between  two  powerful  elements,  while  the  winds  howled  and 
rapidly  increased  in  velocity. 

Railroad  communication  was  cut  off  shortl}^  afternoon,  the 
track  being  washed  out  ;  wire  facilities  completely  failed  at  3 
o'clock,  and  Galveston  was  isolated  from  the  world.  The  wind 
momentarily  increased  in  velocity,  while  the  waters  rapidly  rose 
and  the  night  drew  on  with  dreaded  apprehension  depicted  in  the 
face  of  everv  one. 

Already  hundreds  and  thousands  were  bravel}^  struggling 
with  their  families  against  the  mad  waves  and  fierce  wind  for 
places  of  refuge.  The  public  school  buildings,  court  house, 
hotels,  in  fact  any  place  that  offered  apparently  a  safe  refuge 
from  the  elements,  became  crowded  to  their  utmost.  Two  minutes 


54  INCIDENTS   OF   THE   AWFUL    HURRICANL. 

of  6.30  P.  M.,  just  before  tlie  anemometer  blew  away  the  wind 
had  reached  the  frightful  velocity  of  100  miles  an  hour.  Buildings 
that  had  hitherto  stood  tumbled  and  crashed,  carrying  death  and 
destruction  to  hundreds  of  people.  Roofs  whistled  through  the 
air,  windows  were  driven  in  with  a  crash  or  shattered  by  flying 
slate,  telegraph,  telephone  and  electric  light  poles,  with  their!, 
masses  of  wires,  were  snapped  off  like  pipe  stems,  and  water/ 
communications  were  broken. 

What  velocity  the  wind  attained  after  the  anemometer  blew 
off  is  purel}^  a  matter  of  speculation.  The  lowest  point  touched 
by  the  barometer  in  the  press  correspondents'  ofi&ce,  which  was 
filled  by  frightened  men  and  women,  was  28.04^  ;  this  was  about 
7.30  P.  M.  It  then  began  to  rise  very  slowl}^,  and  b}^  10  P.  M. 
had  reached  28.09,  the  wind  gradually  subsiding,  and  b}^  midnight 
the  storm  had  passed.  The  water,  which  had  reached  a  depth  of 
eight  feet  on  the  strand  at  10  P.  M,  began  to  ebb  and  ran  out  very 
rapidly,  and  by  5  P.  M.  the  crown  of  the  street  was  free  of  water. 
Thus  passed  out  one  of  the  most  frightful  and  destructive  storms 
which  has  ever  devastated  the  coast  of  Texas. 

ADDITIONAL  DETAILS. 

The  city  is  filled  with  destitute,  bereft  and  homeless  people, 
while  in  the  improvised  morgues  are  the  rigid  forms  of  hundreds. 
Whole  families  are  side  by  side. 

The  city  beach  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  city  was  under 
ten  feet  of  water,  and  the  barracks  there  are  destroyed,  the  sol- 
diers having  a  marvelous  escape  from  drowning.  Many  substan- 
tial residences  in  the  western  and  southwestern  part  of  the  city 
were  destroyed,  and  the  death  list  from  there  will  be  large. 

A  heavy  mortality  list  is  expected  among  the  residents  down 
the  island  and  adjacent  to  the  coast  on  the  mainland,  as  both 
were  deeply  flooded,  and  the  houses  were  to  a  great  extent 
insecure.  The  heaviest  losers  by  the  storm  will  be  the  Galveston 
Wharf  Company,  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway  Conipau}^,  and 
the  Gulf,  Colorado  and  Santa  Fe  Railway  Company,  and  the 
Texas  Lone  Star  Flouring  Company. 


INCIDENTS   OF   THE   AWFUL   HURRICANE.  56 

Additional  details  by  tug  from  Galveston  show  that  west  of 
Thirty-third  street  the  storm  swept  the  ground  perfectly  clear  of 
the  residences  that  once  stood  upon  it  and  piled  them  up  in  a  con- 
glomerated mass  five  blocks  back  on  the  beach,  strewing  the 
piling  with  the  debris  and  the  bodies  of  its  many  victims.  Many 
of  these  were  lying  out  in  the  afternoon  sun  and  were  frightful 
to  look  upon.  The  fearful  work  of  the  storm  was  not  confined 
to  the  district  along  the  beach,  but  took  in  all  the  district  in 
the  city  and  the  Denver  resurvey,  but  it  was  near  to  the  beach 
that  most  destruction  to  human  life  occurred. 

The  waves  washed  awa}^  the  Home  for  the  Homeless,  and  it 
is  thought  that  the  inmates,  consisting  of  thirteen  orphans  and 
three  matrons,  were  drowned.  Out  in  the  Denver  resurvey  the 
destruction  was  terrible,  and  victims  of  the  storm  were  many. 
The  government  works  were  greatly  damaged,  the  buildings  on 
the  beach  were  washed  out  into  the  Gulf  and  their  occupants  are 
thought  to  have  perished. 

COMMUNICATIONS  ALL  CUT. 

In  the  north  part  of  the  west  end  the  damage  was  great  also, 
almost  every  building  being  damaged  to  some  extent,  and  many 
completely  wrecked.  The  cotton  and  lumber  yards  in  that  section 
of  the  city  were  completely  razed,  and  much  valuable  machinery 
{s  ruined.  However,  the  loss  of  life  was  not  nearly  so  great  in 
ihat  district  as  it  was  out  towards  the  beach. 

A  special  to  the  "News  "  from  Galveston  brought  to  Houston 
by  the  tug  ''  Brunswick  "  gave  the  following  additional  particulars 
uf  the  storm  : 

"  The  big  iron  oil  tank  of  the  Waters-Pierce  Oil  Company 
was  picked  from  the  Fifteenth  street  pier  and  carried  to  Thirteenth 
street.  The  old  Union  Depot,  in  recent  years  used  as  the  office 
of  the  superintendent  of  the  wharf  yards,  was  dashed  to  pieces, 
as  were  numerous  small  frame  buildings  along  the  wharf  front. 
Men  were  sent  out  Sunday  morning  to  report  the  condition  of  the 
bridges  across  Galveston  Bay,  but  were  unable  to  reach  them. 

"  Telegraphic  communication  was  also    cut    off  on  Saturday 


56  INCIDENTS    OF    THE   AWFUL    HURRICANE. 

The  linemen  who  went  ont  Snnday  reported  that  the  railroad 
bridges  were  all  washed  awa}',  and  there  was  not  snfficient  mater- 
ial in  Galveston  to  rebuild  the  telegraph  lines.  The  cables  under 
the  channel  are  gone.  The  lines  will  have  to  be  built  to  the  city 
from  the  mainland.  Strenuous  efforts  were  made  on  Sunday  to 
'repair  the  damage  to  the  Mexican  cable,  but  on  account  of  the  sea 
being  high  it  was  impossible  to  pick  up  the  lost  end  of  the  cable. 
"  Thousands  of  telegrams  w^ere  filed  at  the  telegraph  office 
during  the  da}^,  with  the  expectation  that  the}''  would  be  sent  to 
Houston  for  transmission,  but  the  captain  of  the  only  small  tug 
available  w^ould  not  venture  on  the  trip  with  a  new  crew,  his 
engineer  and  fireman  having  been  lost,  while  tugs  which  might  be 
hired  were  of  too  deep  draught  to  go  up  the  bayou. 

IN  THE   BUSINESS   DISTRICT. 

"  In  the  business  district  not  a  building  escaped  injury.  The 
Grand  Opera  House  is  caved  in,  and  the  fourth  story  of  the 
Hotel  Grand,  a  part  of  the  same  building,  was  blown  off.  The 
third  story  of  the  City  Hall  was  blown  awa}^  The  three  story 
building  of  the  Ritter  Cafe  was  demolished,  and  crashed  into  the 
rear  of  the  News  Building.  The  fourth  story  was  torn  from  the 
Mood}'  Building,  at  Twenty -second  street  and  the  strand.  The 
Masonic  Temple  was  partially  unroofed  and  the  tower  torn  away. 
The  upper  stories  of  the  Harmon}-  Club  Building  were  caved  in, 
and  the  frame  building  across  the  street  was  demolished. 

"Among  other  buildings  damaged  or  destroyed  was  the  Gal- 
veston Orphans'  Home,  all  the  children  being  reported  unhurt. 
The  Sacred  Heart  Church,  one  of  the  largest  churches  in  the 
city,  is  a  total  wreck.  St.  Mary's  University,  adjoining  it  is  con- 
siderably damaged,  and  the  athletic  building  was  destroyed.  Tlie 
First  Baptist  Church  is  a  wreck.  The  parsonage  adjoining  St. 
St.  John's  Methodist  Church  was  wrecked.  The  Ball  High  School 
building  is  badly  damaged." 

"  Over  thirty  persons  were  rescued  from  St.  Mary's  Infirmary 
but  quite  a  number  perished.  A  mother  and  child,  a  Mexicaii 
woman  and  child  and  an  elderly  lady,  while  going  to  the   cotton 


INCIDENTS    OF   THE   AWPT^L    HURRICANE.  57 

mills,  were  drowned.  Wkile  the  mill  was  crowded  with  people 
the  tower  fell  in,  killing  and  injuring  several  persons.  Over  one 
thousand  persons  sought  shelter  in  the  Count}^  Court  House.  A 
lady  and  child  from  St.  Louis,  names  not  ascertained,  who  were 
visiting  the  family  of  police  officer  John  Bowe,  Avere  lost.  Mrs. 
Burns,  mother  of  motorman  Burns,  and  daughter,  also  perished, 
motorman  Parker,  wife  and  children,  were  killed.  Mrs.  BenhHl 
and  child  were  drowned. 

"  Three  undertaking  establishments  are  all  being  utilized  as 
morgues,  and  a  fourth  morgue  was  opened  in  a  large  building  on 
the  Strand.  Some  of  the  draymen  at  first  refused  to  haul  more 
than  one  bod}^  at  a  time,  demanding  the  price  for  a  full  load  for 
each  trip.  On  Sunday  evening,  however,  the  few  who  made  this 
demand  agreed  to  bring  as  many  bodies  as  their  carts  would  hold. 
Owing  to  the  streets  being  full  of  debris  it  is  only  possible  to  use 
the  two-wheeled  carts. 

CARING  FOR  THE  DEAD. 

"iMany  of  those  who  escaped  tell  of  thrilling  experiences, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Irwin  got  out  on  the  roof  of  their  dwelling. 
They  were  seated  on  the  side  of  the  comb,  and  when  the  building 
blew  over  they  floated  off'  separately  on  sections  of  the  roof 
Mrs.  Irwin  v/as  on  the  raft  alone  all  night.  Mr.  Irwin,  who  had 
found  refuge  at  the  Ursuline  Convent,  and  who  despaired  of  see- 
ing his  wife  again,  heard  a  cry  for  help.  Hoping  to  rescue  a 
human  being,  he  pulled  off  through  the  water,  and  was  surprised 
and  overjoyed  to  find  his  wife  still  afloat  on  the  roof 

"  The  city  is  not  without  a  water  supply-,  but  it  is  in  total 
darkness.  The  city  street  railroad  has  suspended  business, 
much  of  its  track  being  washed  out.  It  will  be  a  month  before 
cars  can  be  operated  by  electricity,  but  horse  car  service  will  be 
substituted  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  The  plant  of  the 
Galveston  Gas  Company  is  partially  demolished,  and  is  out  of 
commission.  Those  who  use  gas  for  fuel  are  helpless.  Fire 
wood  was  swept  away,  but  there  is  plenty  of  drift  wood  to  be 
had. 


5J%  INCIDENTS   OF   THE   AWFUL    HURRICANE. 

"Several  members  of  the  police  force  were  lost,  and  others 
lost  their  families.  The  force  is  greatly  reduced  in  numbers,  and 
at  present  is  insufficient  to  meet  the  demand  upon  it." 

The  foregoing  is  a  horrifying  account,  truthful  and  not  ovex- 
drawn.      In  fact,  the  picture  is  far  short  of  the  realit}^ 

RESISTLESS   POWER  OF  THE  HURRICANE. 

It  is  a  misnomer  to  call  the  violent  revolving  storm  which 
devastated  the  city  of  Galveston  and  the  adjacent  coast  of  Texas 
a  cyclone.  It  was  in  reality  a  hurricane,  and  more  specifically 
what  is  known  to  meteorologists  as  a  West  Indian^  hurricane.  A 
hurricane  has  a  much  smaller  centre  or  diameter  than  a  cyclone,, 
travels  with  far  greater  rapidit}-,  and  its  blasts  often  reach  a 
velocity  of  lOO  miles  an  hour.  The  hurricane  of  the  West  Indies, 
which  is  really  born  in  the  heated  waters  of  the  South  Atlantic, 
and  which  as  a  rule  curves  when  it  reaches  the  Yucatan  Channel 
and  follows  the  course  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  decreases  in  intensity 
as  it  travels  further  north,  broadens  in  diameter,  and  becomes  the 
cyclone  of  the  North  Atlantic. 

It  is  a  curious  feature  of  the  Galveston  hurricane  that,  like 
the  great  hurricane  of  September,  1889,  which  devastated  Vera 
Cruz,  it  did  not  follow  the  course  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  but  curved 
westward  instead  of  eastward,  after  passing  the  Yucatan  Channel, 
and  rushed  in  upon  the  Texan  coast.  Galveston  was  not  up  to 
this  time  considered  as  within  the  hurricane  belt,  and  its  awful 
visitation  is  proof  that  the  laws  of  storms  have  exceptions  to  their 
rules. 

The  late  Padre  Vines,  of  Havana,  the  venerable  and  learned 
Jesuit  priest,  who  made  a  lifelong  study  of  the  birth  and  course  of 
West  Indian  hurricanes,  was  accustomed  to  warn  by  cable  the 
many  friends  that  he  had  among  the  captains  of  the  vessels  ply- 
ing to  and  from  West  Indian  ports  of  the  approach  of  hurricanes 
and  their  probable  course. 

In  September,  1889,  he  cabled  to  Captain  Joshua  Reynolds, 
commanding  one  of  the  Ward  steamers,  and  who  was  just  leaving 
Vera  Cruz  for  New  York,  that  a  hurricane  was  approaching  from 


INCIDENTS    OF   THE   AWFUL    HURRICANE.  59 

the  eastward,  and  that  he  would  better  steam  slowly  to  and  past 
Progress©  and  let  the  great  storm  pass  up  and  along  the  Gulf 
Stream.  Captain  Reynolds  acted,  in  obedience  to  the  warning, 
but  this  particular  hurricane,  like  the  one  that  struck  Galveston, 
curved  to  the  westward  instead  of  to  the  eastward,  after  passing 
the  Yucatan  Channel,  overcame  an  area  of  high  barometer  tha^, 
hung  over  the  Mexican  coast,  and  rushed  into  Vera  Cruz,  carry- 
ing death  and  destruction  in  its  wake.  Captain  Reynolds  and  his 
ship  safely  weathered  the  hurricane  and  were  received  at  Havana 
with  great  rejoicing,  where  it  had  been  thought  they  were  lost. 

It  was  in  1859  that  still  another  West  Indian  hurricane 
curved  the  wrong  way  and  swept  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  over  Last 
Island,  then  the  great  summer  resort  of  Southern  society,  situated 
a  few  miles  west  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  off  the  coast  of 
Barataria.  Those  who  wish  to  obtain  some  conception  of  the 
horrors  attending  the  Galveston  hurricane  should  read  Lafcadio 
Hearn's  story  of  "Chita  :  The  Romance  of  Last  Island,"  in  which 
that  skilled  word  painter  depicts  the  scenes  of  the  awful  tragedy 
which  decimated  the  households  of  the  South. 

STIRRING  APPEALS  FOR  HELP. 

One  of  our  leading  journals  made  the  following  timely  com- 
ments upon  the  Galveston  calamity  and  the  urgent  necessity  for 
quick  help  : 

"The  cry  for  help  which  comes  from  the  stricken  city  of 
Galveston  and  the  surrounding  country  is  a  moving  appeal  which 
should  receive  the  readiest  and  most  generous  response.  The  ex- 
tent of  the  disaster  which  has  overtaken  the  city  and  the  coast 
country  of  Texas  has  not  been  overdrawn,  it  seems,  in  the  reports 
from  the  scene,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  exaggerate  the 
horror  of  the  catastrophe  and  the  distress  and  suffering  that  follow 
in  its  wake. 

"x\  fair  city  of  138,000  inhabitants  was  wrecked  in  a  night./ 
Thousands  of  men,  women  and  children  were  drowned  or  killed  in 
the  wreckage  of  the  flooded,  crumbling  city  ;  whole  families 
suddenly  blotted  out  ;  the   great  mass   of  the  survivors  bereft  of 


60  INCIDENTS   OF   THE   AWFUL    HURRICANE. 

their  habitations,  goods  and  clothing,  and  by  the  wreck  of  bnsine^.s 
honses  and  the   stoppage  of  indnstry   deprived  of  the  means  of 
earning  subsistence  for  a  long  time  to  come.     No  one  need  hesi 
tate  about  making  a  contribution  to  alleviate  the  suffering  of  Texab 
m  the  grounds  that  others  will   give  enough  to  suppl}^  all  needs. 

TERRIBLE  SUFFERING  AND   MISERY. 

"  However  generous  or  lavish  may  be  the  aid  proffered,  it  will 
not  be  enough  to  repair  the  mischief  of  that  storm,  and  however 
prompt  the  aid  may  be,  it  will  not  be  quick  enough  to  prevent 
terrible  suffering  and  misery.  Delay  in  providing  for  the 
impoverished  and  homeless  means  peril  to  more  lives,  deprivation 
and  sickness,  and,  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances  in  get- 
ting aid  to  the  district,  thousands  are  fated  to  undergo  the  severest 
suffering. 

"  Fortunatel}^,  the  Government  has  stepped  in  and,  through 
the  War  Department,  is  lending  prompt  and  effective  aid.  Tents 
and  rations  are  being  rushed  to  Galveston  with  all  possible  speed, 
and  private  liberality  and  relief  committees  are  coming  to  the 
rescue.  The  scope  of  the  Government's  efforts  will  be  limited  to 
such  supplies  as  are  available  in  the  War  Department,  and,  in 
addition,  vast  quantities  of  food,  clothing  and  medicines  are 
needed,  doctors  and  nurses  are  required,  and  a  large  sum  of  money 
is  an  absolute  necessity  to  pay  for  these  things  and  to  form  a  fund 
for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  relief  until  the  sharp  period  of 
distress  shall  be  tided  over.  Our  city,  in  every  cause  that  appeals 
to  benevolence  and  humanity,  has  always  been  in  the  forefront  of 
the  generous,  and,  in  such  a  case  as  the  Texas  disaster,  the  city's 
liberality  should  be  maintained.  The  Citizens'  Permanent  Relief 
Committee  has  taken  steps  to  render  aid  to  the  hurricane  suffer- 
ers, and,  through  that  useful  and  beneficent  organization,  every 
person  in  ihis  vicinity  will  have  the  opportunity  to  join  in  giving 
aid  for  a  purpose  which  must  excite  universal  pity  and  sym- 
pathy." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Cry  of  Distress  in  the  Wrecked  City— Negro  Vandals 

Shot  Down — Progress  of  the  ReHef  Work 

— Strict  Military  Rule. 

THE    situation   on  the   third   day  after   the  flood  was  vividly 
described  by  a  visitor  to  the  city  as  follows :    It  is  plainly 
apparent  that  as  a  result  of  the  Galveston  disaster,  a  task 
confronts   the   public   authorities  such   as  neither  Texas  nor  any 
other  State  has  ever  before  had  to  grapple  with. 

Human  nature  at  its  worst  has  had  opportunity  for  the  dis- 
play of  its  meanest  passions,  and  relentless  measures  have  been 
rendered  necessary.  Looters  and  vandals  have  ignored  all  moral 
restraints,  and  gunpowder  has  had  to  be  used  unsparingly  to  sub- 
due the  savagery  being  practiced.  It  is  learned  on  unquestionable 
authority  that  the  soldiers  under  Adjutant  General  Scurry  have 
to-day  (Wednesday  the  12th)  slain  no  less  than  seventy -five  men, 
mostly  negroes,  guilty  of  robbing  the  dead. 

POCKET    FULL   OF    HUMAN    FINGERS. 

One  of  these  had  in  his  pocket  twenty-three  human  fingers 
with  costly  rings  on  them.  The  fingers  had  been  cut  from  the 
victims  of  the  storm  found  on  the  beach  or  floating  in  the  waters  of 
Galveston  Bay. 

W.  McGrath,  Manager  of  the  Dallas  Electric  Company,  and 
representing  large  Boston  interests  in  Texas,  returned  from 
Galveston  direct.  He  says :  "  The  only  way  to  prevent  an  epi- 
demic that  will  practically  depopulate  the  island  is  to  burn  the 
bodies  of  the  dead.  The  Governor  of  Texas  should  call  an  extra 
session  of  the  Legislature  and  appropriate  a  million  or  half  a  mil- 
lion dollars,  or  whatever  amount  is  needed.  The  situation  must 
be  taken  intelligentl}^  in  hand  to  save  the  State  from  a  possible 
epidemic.     Before  I   left  Galveston   about  4,000  bodies  had  been 


62  CRY   OF  DISTRESS   IN   GALVESTON. 

found.  Eleven  liundred  had  been  tied  together  in  bunches  and 
sunk  into  the  sea.  Last  night  some  fresh  water  was  found  b}^ 
forces  of  men  who  explored  the  ground  until  the  principal  main  of 
the  city  water  works  was  found.  Tons  of  rubbish  were  removed 
and  the  main  tapped.  I  believe  the  water  question  is  solved  for 
the  present,  but  money,  clothing,  wholesome  bread,  ice,  drugs,  etc., 
are  needed." 

A  bulletin  from  Galveston,  via.  Virginia  Point  and  Houston, 
received  here  at  1 1  A.  M.,  says  : 

"  The  situation  grows  worse  every  minute,  water  and  ice 
needed.  People  in  frenzy  from  suffering  from  these  causes.  Scores 
have  died   since   last  night,  and  a  number  of  sufferers   have  gone 


insane." 


THE    STORY    INCREASES    IN    HORROR. 

A  despatch  from  Houston  summed  up  the  situation  as  follows : 
Houston  is  now  being  rapidly  filled  with  refugees  from  Galveston. 
Stragglers  have  been  arriving  every  few  hours,  and  this  afternoon 
a  trainload  of  some  eight  hundred  reached  the  city  thoroughly 
worn  out  and  disheartened,  each  with  a  tale  of  woe  and  harrowing 
experiences.  Contrary  to  the  usual  thing  in  chronicling  catastro- 
phes of  the  present  character  the  story  of  Galveston  grows  worse 
as  the  time  progresses  and  the  facts  become  known.  Each  chap- 
ter is  more  appalling  than  its  predecessor,  and  the  burden  of  death 
becomes  heavier  as  the  hours  roll  on.  The  estimates  of  the  loss  of 
life  have  grown  from  i,ooo  to  8,000,  and  even  the  latter  figure  is 
said  to  be  too  small  in  the  opinion  of  many  of  the  survivors. 

ACTUAL   LOSS  WILL    NEVER    BE    KNOWN. 

The  actual  loss  will  never  be  made  known.  The  storm  over- 
fA'helmed  entire  families,  who  were  swept  into  the  Gulf  with  the 
Wreckage  of  their  homes.  The  bodies  may  gradually  be  thrown  on 
the  sands,  but  identification  will  be  impossible.  The  committees 
are  endeavoring  to  compile  lists  of  both  dead  and  living,  but  they 
will  not  be  accurate,  as  many  mistakes  have  already  been  made 
and    the    living    reported    dead.      Registers    have  been  made  and 


CRY   OF   DISTRESS   IN   GALVESTON.  63 

posted   iu   the  city  in   order  to  facilitate  this  feature  of  the  relief 

work. 

DISPOSING    OF    THE    DEAD. 

So  far  the  efforts  of  the  searchers  have  necessarily  been  con- 
fined to  the  open  places,  and  it  will  be  some  time  before  the  dead 
swept  into  the  fields,  the  alleys  and  the  gullies  are  gathered  and 
7aid  away  for  good.  The  city  is  one  awful  stench  of  decaying  ani- 
mal matter.  Nearly  every  animal  on  the  island  was  killed,  and 
the  thousands  of  human  remains  still  scattered  beneath  the  vast 
piles  of  debris  add  to  the  danger  of  the  situation.  Too  much  time 
was  lost  in  consigning  the  dead  to  the  sea,  and  the  workers  were 
compelled  by  the  exigencies  of  the  situation  to  pile  the  corpses 
where  found,  and  cremate  them  as  well  as  this  could  be  done. 

PEOPLE    DELAYED    FLIGHT  TOO    LONG. 

Oswald  Wilson,  editor  of  the  Texan^  who  arrived  with  the  refu- 
gees, says  that  the  situation  cannot  be  painted  any  blacker  than  it 
really  is.  Fully  one-third  of  the  city  has  been  destroyed  absolutel}^ 
and  every  building  damaged.  He  says  that  one  reason  that  the 
loss  of  life  was  so  excessive  was  due  to  the  fact  that  they  delayed 
leaving  their  homes  until  too  late.  The  water  rose  rapidl}'^  for 
several  hours  until  the  centre  of  the  city  was  six  feet  deep  and  the 
outlying  section  covered  to  a  depth  of  over  ten  feet.  The  people 
of  Galveston  were  accustomed  to  high  water,  although  the}^  had 
never  witnessed  so  great  an  inundation,  but  their  fears  were  calmed 
by  the  fact  that  during  this  period  the  wind  had  not  risen  abo\  e 
thirty  miles  an  hour,  and  every  year  they  had  seen  this  condition 
during  the  equinoctial  periods. 

REALIZED    THEIR    PERIL  TOO    LATE. 

Men  waded  about  the  city  laughing  at  the  rise  of  the  water 
for  hours,  for  the  sea  graduall}^  encroached  during  the  morning, 
and  it  was  only  when  they  realized  the  bay  was  forcing  its  contents 
to  meet  the  tide  from  the  Gulf  that  they  lost  their  confidence  that 
the  present  was  but  another  attempt  of  the  elements  to  create 
a  disturbance,  and  seriously  endeavored  to  reach  a  point  of  safety. 


64  CRY   OF   DISTRESS   IN   GALVESTON. 

Then  it  was  too  late,  for  the  tide  swirled  in  the  streets  and  tlie 
wind  had  begun  rapidly  to  increase  in  violence.  It  howled  and 
screamed  in  great  gnsts,  which  increased  in  strength  every  minute, 
and  one  by  one  the  houses  along  the  Gulf  front  and  in  the  Denver 
resurvey  and  about  Fort  Point  began  to  go  to  pieces  and  pile  one 
against  the  other. 

The  waters  were  filled  with  debris  and  the  debris  wntli  men, 
women  and  children  seeking  to  save  their  lives.  Wading  was  im- 
possible, save  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  and  the  unfortunates  werQ 
swept  to  and  fro,  dashed  by  the  waves  and  bruised  by  the  flying 
fragments,  until  death  resulted  in  one  form  or  another.  Many 
were  the  deeds  of  heroism,  but  rescuers  and  all  fell  victims  to  the 
storm,  for  human  efforts  were  unavailing. 

MORE    HORRORS    DETAILED. 

J.  C.  Roberts,  of  the  firm  of  Behring  Brothers,  Houston,  was 
sent  to  Galveston  to  learn  of  the  family  of  his  employers.  His 
journc}^  was  arduous,  for  he  was  one  of  the  first.  Arriving  in  the 
cit}^  worn  out,  he  entered  a  little  drug  store  and  asked  for  whisky. 
He  was  refused.  A  doctor  was  present  and  gave  him  a  prescription 
for  the  stimulant.  The  druggist  charged  ^2.50  for  the  whisky,  and 
the  doctor  $5  for  his  services.  He  landed  at  Galveston  at  Twen- 
tieth street,  and  walked  through  dead  bodies. 

His  description  of  the  scenes  is  horrible  in  the  extreme.  The 
dead  were  everywhere.  They  were  scattered  on  every  hand,  and 
nearly  all  in  a  complete  state  of  nudity.  He  saw  an  Italian  woman 
standing  in  the  street  holding  in  her  hand  the  foot  and  leg  of  an 
infant  severed  from  the  little  body.  She  was  unclad,  but  alive  and 
insane,  and  refused  to  leave  the  pile  of  debris  which  contained  the 
remains  of  her  little  one. 

Roberts  witnessed  one  of  the  guards  sboot  five  negro  looters. 
He  observed  one  of  the  men  robbing  a  dead  bod3^  The  man  re- 
fused to  desist  and  the  guard  shot  him  dead  as  he  knelt  on  the 
sands.  Four  companions  of  the  ghoul  started  to  assault  the  guard, 
when  he  threw  himself  on  his  stomach,  and,  firing  rapidl3%  killed 
them  all. 


CRY  OF  DISTRESS  IN  GALVESTON.  65 

NINETY    NEGROES    EXECUTED. 

It  is  said  that  ninety  negroes  have  been  executed  for  robbery, 
and  it  is  unsafe  for  any  one  to  stir  at  night  unless  provided  with  a 
passport  from  the  officer  in  charge.  A  description  of  the  burning 
of  the  dead  and  the  burial  at  sea  is  beyond  reproduction.  All  senti- 
ment is  at  an  end.  It  has  become  a  matter  of  self-protection  and  in 
order  to  avoid  pestilence  rapid  disposal  of  the  corpses  is  necessar}^ 
Several  load-^^  of  lime  have  been  sent  from  here,  with  other  disin- 
fectants. The  ■oeople  of  Galveston  have  had  no  bread  since  the 
storm  save  what  little  has  been  sent  from  Houston.  A  cracker 
factory  opened  its  doors  Sunday  and  sold  its  entire  contents  in  a 
short  time.  Some  food  was  left  after  the  storm,  but  this  is  rapidly 
being  distxibuted. 

Bonfires  are  burning  all  over  the  city.  They  are  the  funeral 
of  a  thoiisand  festering  corpses  cast  back  upon  the  shore  at  high 
tide  yesterday.  Cremation  has  become  a  necessity  to  prevent  an 
epidemic.  The  negroes  refuse  to  work,  and  the  townspeople  are 
paralyzed  with  fright  and  suffering,  or  are  making  preparations  to 
leave  the  doomed  island. 

The  first  train  to  carry  refugees  to  Texas  City,  seven  iniles 
across  the  bay,  was  announced  this  morning,  and  since  daylight  a 
thousand  men,  women  and  children  have  been  crowding  into  cat- 
boats,  lifeboats,  sloops,  schooners  and  a  single  steamboat,  the  Law- 
rence, all  bent  on  escaping  from  the  city.  Nearly  all  of  them  have 
lost  some  member  of  their  families.  The  women  wear  no  hats,  are 
unkempt  and  ill-clad.     They  look  as  if  haunted. 

THE    CITY   OFFICIALS    IN    A   LIVELY    QUARREL. 

The  situation  has  gotten  beyond  the  control  of  the  authorities. 
The  powers  in  control  have  been  quarreling.  Last  night  at  7 
o'clock  every  citizen  soldier  under  command  of  Major  Fayling  was 
called  in,  disarmed  and  mustered  out  of  service.  Chief  of  Police 
Ketchum  then  took  charge,  and  the  Major  was  relieved  of  his  com- 
mand.    During  an  hour  and  a  half  the  city  was  unguarded.    Negro 

looters  held  high  carnival. 
5 


66  CRY   OF   DISTRESS   IN   GALVESTON. 

As  the  Major's  work  was  iiimsually  brilliant,  the  citizens  are 
furious.  This  morning  the  situation  from  the  police  standpoint 
is  improved.  A  hundred  of  the  State  militia  of  the  Houston 
Light  Guards,  Houston  Artillery  and  Houston  Cavalry  have  arrived. 
They  are  patrolling  the  west  end  of  the  cit3^  General  McKibbin, 
Commander  of  the  Department  of  the  Gulf,  and  Adjutant  Gen- 
eral Scurry,  of  Texas,  are  on  the  ground,  and  are  advising  with 
Mayor  Jones  and  the  Chief  of  Police  Ketchum. 

In  all  other  respects  the  city  is  worse  off  than  on  the  morning 
after  the  tragedy.  A  terrible  stench  permeates  the  atmosphere. 
It  comes  from  the  bodies  of  a  thousand  unburied  dead  festering  in 
the  debris,  that  cannot  be  removed  for  weeks  on  account  of  the 
paucity  of  laborers.  Every  tide  brings  scores  back  to  the  shore. 
During  the  early  part  of  yesterday  trenches  were  dug  and  the 
bodies  thrown  into  them,  but  it  soon  became  an  impossibility  to 
bury  all,  and  the  health  authorities  decided  upon  cremation  as  an 
expedient. 

WORK    OF   THE    RELIEF    COMMITTEE 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Relief  Committee  held  this  morning  reports 
were  received  from  the  various  wards.  The  chairman  called  for 
armed  men  to  assist  in  getting  labor  to  bury  the  dead  and  clear  the 
wreckage,  and  arrangements  were  made  to  supply  this  demand. 

The  situation  in  the  city  to-day  is  that  there  are  plenty  of 
volunteers  for  this  service,  but  an  insufficiency  of  arms.  .  There 
have  been  two  or  three  small  riots,  but  the  officers  have  managed 
to  quell  them.  The  committee  rejected  the  proposition  of  trying 
to  pay  for  work,  letting  the  laborers  secure  their  own  rations.  It 
was  decided  to  go  ahead  impressing  men  into  service,  if  necessary, 
issuing  orders  for  rations  only  to  those  who  worked  or  were  unable 
to  work. 

All  of  the  ward  chairmen  reported  the  imperative  need  of 
disinfectants.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  sequester  all  the 
disinfectants  in  the  city,  including  the  lime  which  escaped  wetting, 
and  to  obtain  more.  Houston  was  called  upon  for  a  barge  loa^  of 
lime. 


CRY  OF  DISTRESS   IN  GALVESTON.    ^  Q"* 

WORK  AT  THE  WATER  WORKS. 

Work  on  the  water  works  had  not  progressed  so  satisfactorily 
as  had  been  hoped  for.  The  men  did  not  work  last  night.  Chief 
Engineer  Reynolds  has  not  been  at  the  works  since  yesterday 
morning.  Alderman  McMaster  took  charge  of  the  work  to-day. 
The  machinery  has  been  cleared  of  the  debris  and  the  pipes  found 
to  be  badly  damaged,  and  plumbers,  steam  fitters  and  boiler  maker* 
are  at  work  on  them.  Mr.  McMaster  says  he  thinks  it  will  be  pos- 
sible to  turn  water  into  the  mains  to-morrow. 

All  saloons  were  closed  by  the  Chief  of  Police  on  Sunday.  At 
a  meeting  of  the  General  Committee  with  the  city  officials  to  day, 
the  policing  of  the  city  was  discussed.  Mayor  Jones  announced 
that  Adjutant  General  Scurry  would  take  charge  of  the  situation 
with  the  soldiers  and  citizen  soldiery.  The  city  is  patrolled  by 
about  2,000  police  officers,  special  officers,  soldiers  and  deputy 
sheriffs.  Deputy  Chief  of  Police  Amundsen  is  acting  as  Chief. 
Chief  of  Police  Ketchum  is  engaged  in  other  work  outside  of  the 
police  department. 

STRICT   POLICE    RULES. 

No  liquor  is  permitted  to  be  sold  under  any  circumstances, 
unless  ordered  by  the  chairman  of  one  of  the  committees  or  by  a 
physician,  who  must  state  that  it  is  to  be  used  for  medicinal  pur- 
poses. All  persons  not  having  business  on  the  streets  after  dark 
must  be  identified  before  they  will  be  allowed  to  pass.  Unless  iden- 
tification is  forthcoming  they  are  arrested.  No  person  is  allowed 
to  work  in  or  about  any  building  unless  he  has  a  written  permit 
signed  b}'-  the  Chief  of  Police  or  Deputy  Chief.  No  person  is  per- 
mitted to  carry  furniture  or  other  property  through  the  streets 
unless  he  has  a  written  permit  from  the  proper  authority.  No 
gambling  is  permitted,  and  any  violations  of  this  rule  are  prose- 
cuted to  the  fullest  extent. 

During  the  storm  Saturday  night  the  young  men  of  the  Bod- 
diker  family,  with  the  aid  of  a  skiff,  rescued  over  forty  people  and 
took  them  to  the  University  building,  where  they  found  shelter. 


68  CRY   OF    DISTRESS   IN    GALVESTON. 

The  organization  of  forces  under  the  able  administration  of 
General  Scnrry  was  observable  on  every  hand,  and  the  chaotic 
condition  of  the  city  was  being  supplanted  by  a  vigor  of  action 
that  portended  restoration  in  the  near  future.  Private  enterprise 
went  to  work  and  the  people  took  heart. 

NURSES   FROM   A  DISTANCE. 

The  very  presence  of  nurses  was  a  sign  that  the  calamity  had 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  world  at  large,  and  the  city  would 
not  be  left  to  succumb  to  the  dire  and  terrible  disaster  that  has 
overtaken  it. 

One  of  the  local  journals  said  :  "  Merchants  are  cleaning  up 
their  stores  and  repairing  their  injured  buildings  ;  property 
owners  are  seeking  everywhere  to  obtain  men  and  materials  with 
which  to  restore  their  shattered  habitations.  Hope  has  by  no 
means  departed.  In  a  brief  time  the  sound  of  the  locomotive  will 
be  heard  upon  the  island,  freight  will  be  pouring  up  to  the  ship's 
side,  and  the  mechanic  and  artisan  will  find  remunerative  employ- 
ment for  years  to  come.  Out  of  the  destruction  of  the  greatest  wind 
and  tide  force  that  ever  played  upon  the  American  continent,  there 
has  arisen  already  a  feeling  that  what  a  week  ago  was  regarded 
as  an  irretrievable  disaster,  will  yet  prove  the  starting  point  of  a 
remodelled  and  reinvigorated  Galveston.  The  whole  world  is 
behind  us  in  generous  sympathy  and  noble  beneficence." 

GOVERNOR  SAYRES  ON  THE  SITUATION. 

Governor  Sayres  made  the  following  statement  to  the  Asso- 
<:iated  Press  on  the  flood  situation  : 

"Conditions  at  Galveston  are  fully  as  bad  as  reported.  Com- 
munication, however,  has  been  re-established  between  the  island 
and  the  mainland,  and  hereafter  transportation  of  supplies  will  be 
less  difl&cult.  The  work  of  clearing  the  city  is  progressing  fairly 
well,  and  Adjutant  General  Scurry,  under  direction  of  the  Mayor, 
is  patrolling  the  city  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  depredations. 
The  most  conservative  estimate  as  to  the  number  of  dead  places 
them  at  2,000.  Contributions  from  citizens  of  this  State  and  also 
from  other  States   are   coming  in  rapidly   and  liberally,  and  it  is 


i 


1 


CRY   OF   DISTRESS  IN   GALVESTON.  69 

confidently  expected  that  witiiin  the  next  ten  days  the  work  of  res- 
toration by  the  people  of  Galveston  will  have  begun  in  good  earnest 
and  with  energy  and  success.  Of  course,  the  destruction  of  prop- 
erty has  been  very  great — not  less  than  $10,000,000,  but  it  is  hoped 
and  believed  that  even  this  great  loss  will  be  overcome  through  the 
energy  and  self-reliance  of  the  people." 

During  the  day  the  contributions  have  fairly  deluged  the 
Governor,  upwards  of  $100,000  having  been  received.  Among  the 
large  contributors  are  to  be  noted  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  with 
$10,000;  St.  Louis  Commercial  Club  for  a  like  amount,  and  the 
Huntington  interests  for  $5,000 

THE   TRANSPORTATION    PROBLEM. 

Thio  afternoon  Governor  Sayres  received  the  following  official 
report  from  General  Manager  Trice,  of  the  International  and  Great 
Northern  Railroad,  who  is  conducting  the  operations  of  the  relief 
corps  at  Galveston  : 

"  To  Governor  Sayres,  Austin,  Tex. — Your  message  of  yester 
day  received.  The  cars  containing  the  tents  and  rations  were 
turned  over  to  the  barge  line  this  morning  and  forwarded  to  Gal- 
veston, arrangements  having  been  made  for  all  freight  to  be 
handled  by  barges  hauled  by  tugs  from  Clinton  to  Galveston,  and 
passengers  by  our  line  to  Texas  Cit}^,  and  by  boats  from  Texas 
City  to  Galveston.  This  is  the  best  arrangement  that  can  be  made, 
and  it  prevents  delay  to  either  the  freight  or  the  passenger  service, 
for,  if  we  handled  the  freight  with  the  passengers  to  Texas  City,  to 
transfer  from  the  cars  to  the  boats  would  cause  too  much  delay  to 
the  passenger  service. 

"  We  brought  in  one  train,  consisting  of  about  three  hundred 
Galveston  people,  to  Houston  to-day,  and  will  get  another  train-load 
to-night,  mostly  women  and  children,  which  will  make  about  600 
that  we  will  get  out  of  Galveston  to-day.  The  passenger  and 
freight  service  between  Houston  and  Galveston  is  all  free 
for  sufferers,  and  we  are  issuing  transportation  to  all  points 
north  of  Houston  to  all  sufferers  not  able  to  pay  their  way. 

"  L  Trice." 


70  CRY  OF  DISTRESS  IN  GALVESTON. 

ADJUTANT   GENERAL   SCURRY'S  ESTIMATE. 

The  following  report  was  also  received  from  Adjutant  General 
Scurry : 

"  Governor  Sayres,  Austin. — Mayor  of  Houston  ordered  Hous- 
ton military  companies  here,  sixty-five  men  and  officers  came. 
Thirty  more  come  to-morrow.  Mayor  of  Galveston  directed  me  to 
take  command.  Streets  patrolled  for  purpose  of  preventing  thiev- 
ing.    Work  of  clearing  the  city  progressing  fairly  well. 

"Thomas  Scurry,  Adjutant  General." 

LOSS    OF  LIFE  AND  DAMAGE  AT    OTHER    POINTS. 

Governor  Sayres  began  receiving  reports  from  various  points 
along  the  Gulf  coast,  which  would  indicate  that  there  has  been 
great  property  damage  done  for  several  hundred  miles,  and  that 
the  list  of  Galveston  fatalities  aud  suffering  will  be  largely  aug- 
mented. Down  the  coast  from  Galveston,  the  town  of  Dickinson 
was  laid  waste  and  five  people  killed.  The  towns  of  Alvin,  Alta 
Loma,  Texas  City  and  Brookshire,  are  wrecked  and  hundreds  are 
destitute.  Richmond  is  so  badly  demolished  that  it  will  require 
weeks  to  clear  the  town. 

Missouri  City  and  Stafford,  just  opposite,  were  entirely  demol- 
ished, and  the  few  remaining  people  at  these  places  have  no  homes 
to  cover  their  heads.  Bay  City,  in  Matagorda  county,  is  reported 
wrecked,  with  much  loss  of  life,  though  no  official  report  has  been 
made  to  that  effect.  Patton,  Rollover,  Bolivar  Point,  Quintana-, 
Sugarland,  Belleville,  Wharton,  Fair  View,  Missouri  City,  Sartar- 
tia,  Areola  and  El  Campo  are  all  reported  heavy  sufferers  both  in 
point  of  property  destroyed  and  lives  lost.  Owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  telegraph  service  is  still  badly  crippled.  Governor  Sayres  cannot 
ascertain  the  exact  number  of  dead  at  the  points  named,  but  it  is 
approximated  at  500. 

BOATS  FOR  TRANSPORTATION. 

The  Governor  was  informed  that  quite  a  number  of  tugs  from 
New  Orleans  and  other  available  points  had  either  arrived  or  were 
oil  the  way  to  Galveston,  and  the  transportation  problem  would 


CRY   OF   DISTRESS   IN   GALVESTON.  71 

soon  be  solved  so  far  as  the  getting  people  from  tlie  island  to  tlie 
mainland  was  concerned. 

Hundreds  applied  to  Governor  Sayresfor  permits  to  go  to  Gal- 
veston, but  be  refused  all,  saying  tbat  there  were  already  too  many 
people  there. 

THE  DEVASTATION  APPALLING. 

The  Quartermaster's  Department  at  Washington,  received  the 
following  from  Galveston  : 

"  Quartermaster  General,  Washington :  Referring  to  my  tele- 
grams of  9th  and  loth,  I  have,  subject  to  approval,  suspended  the 
Crockett  construction  contracts,  and  again  urgently  recommend 
that  contractors  be  paid  for  labor  and  material  in  place  and  on  the 
ground.  All  swept  away  and  lost  beyond  recovery.  Fortifications 
at  Crockett,  Jacinto  and  Travis  all  destro3^ed  and  cannot  be  rebuilt 
on  present  sites.  Recommend  continuance  of  my  office  here  only 
long  enough  to  recover  Crockett  office  safes  and  morning  gun, 
when  located  ;  also  to  close  accounts  and  ship  my  office  and  re- 
covered property  where  directed.  I  fear  Galveston  is  destroyed 
beyond  its  ability  to  recover.    Loss  of  life  and  property  appalling. 

"  Baxter,  Quartermaster." 

VESSEL  ORDERED  TO  GALVESTON. 

President  McKinley  received  a  telegram  from  Governor  Sayres, 
of  Texas,  asking  that  a  light  draft  vessel  be  sent  to  Galveston  to 
assist  in  the  communication  between  the  islknd  and  the  mainland. 
The  message  was  referred  to  the  Treasury  Department,  and  an 
order  was  issued  to  the  revenue  cutter  Winona,  at  Mobile,  to  pro- 
ceed to  Galveston  without  a  moment's  unnecessary  delay.  The 
Lighthouse  Board  also  ordered  the  lighthouse  tender  ArbutuB,  then 
at  New  Orleans,  to  clear  at  once  for  Galveston. 

Captain  Shoemaker,  Chief  of  the  Revenue  Cutter  Service,  is 
apprehensive  as  to  the  fate  of  the  cutter  Galveston,  which  was  an- 
chored in  Galveston  harbor  at  the  beginning  of  the  storm.  It  is 
assumed  that  she  put  to  sea,  but  as  three  full  days  have  elapsed 
since  she  was  heard  from  there  are  fears  for  her  safety. 


72  CRY  OF  DISTRESS  IN  GALVESTON. 

The  relief  work,  now  under  full  sway  at  Houston,  is  along  two 
lines — to  succor  those  who  cannot  leave  Galveston  and  to  bring  out 
of  the  city  alj  those  who  can  and  are  willing  to  leave. 

Mayor  Jones  and  the  citizens'  committee  of  the  island  city  are 
urging  that  only  those  shall  be  permitted  to  enter  Galveston  whose 
presence  is  imperative,  and  transportation  lines  are  straining  every 
nerve  in  order  that  they  may  accord  the  privilege  to  those  who  art 
pleading  to  get  away  from  the  scenes  of  horror  and  desolation 
around  them. 

Hundreds  of  people  have  come  to  Houston  from  the  fom 
points  of  the  compass,  anxious  to  get  into  the  stricken  town,  but 
since  the  exodus  of  islanders  has  begun  many  of  these  have  cous 
eluded  to  remain  here  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  missing  on  the 
way  those  for  whom  they  are  in  search. 

ATTEMPT  TO  SUM  UP  THE  LOSSES. 

News  has  gradually  been  reaching  here  of  the  immense  lossea 
along  the  coast  beyond  Galveston.  Damage  difficult  to  estimate  in 
dollars  and  cents  has  been  done  in  a  wide  stretch  of  territory,  and 
many  human  lives  have  been  lost  besides  those  which  were  wiped 
out  in  Galveston  and  its  immediate  vicinity.  Based  on  reports 
believed  to  be  accurate^  the  following  statement  is  probably  as  near 
correct  as  can  be  arrived  at  at  this  time : 

Place.  Lives  lost.     Property  loss. 

Galveston 8000     $10,000,000 

Houston    .     .     .     .    ' 2  300,000 

Alvin 9  100,000 

Hitchcock 2  75,000 

Richmond 3  75P^o 

Fort  Bend  county 19  300,000 

Wharton —  40,000 

Wharton  county 8  100,000 

Colorado  county —  250,000 

Angleton 3  75,ooo 

Velasco — ■  50,000 

Other  points  in  Brazoria  county 4  30,000 


CRY  OF  DISTRESS  IN  GALVESTON.  73 

Place.                                                                                         Lives  lost.  Property  loss, 

Sabine —  40,000 

Patton —  10,000 

Rollover —  10,000 

WeiiDie —  10,000 

Belleville I  50,000 

Hempstead I  15,000 

Brooksliire 2  35,ooo 

Waller  county 3  100,000 

Areola 2  5,000 

Saratatia —  5,ooo 

Other  points —  100,000 

Dickinson 7  30,000 

Texas  City 5  150,000 

Columbia 8  15,000 

Sandy  Point 8  10,000 

Near  Brazoria  (convicts) 15  1 000 

Damage  to  railroads  outside  of  Galveston  .  200  000 
Damage  to  telegraph  and  telephone  wires  out 

side  of  Galveston 30,000 

Damage  to  cotton  crop,  estimated  on  average  crop  of  counties 
affected,  50,000  bales  at  $60  per  bale  ;  total,  $3,000,000.  Losses  to 
live  stock  cannot  be  estimated,  but  thousands  of  horses  and  cattle 
liave  been  killed  all  over  the  storm  district. 


RELIEF  PUSHED    FORWARD    NIGHT   AND   :)AY. 

Relief  for  those  stricken  in  the  awful  calamity  is:  now  begin- 
ning to  pour  in  from  all  over  the  country.  Relief  committees  are 
being  organized,  and  food,  clothing  and  money  raised  to  be  sent 
here  as  rapidly  as  the  special  trains  can  carry  the  supplies  to  the 
people  so  sorely  in  need  of  them. 

The  Relief  Committee  here  announces  that  the  subscription' 
in  cash  are  in  excess  of  $15,000,  and  that  in  addition  to  the  provi- 
sions which  have  been  forwarded  from  here  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment has  ordered  50,000  rations,  which  are  now  on  their  way  from 


74  ci^x    OF  DISTRESS  IN   GALVESTON. 

vSaii  A  ntonio.  Lieutenant  Ferguson,  of  General  AIcKibben's  staff, 
expects  to  take  two  car  loads  of  food  to  Galveston  to-day.  A  tele- 
gram from  New  Orleans  says  tliat  the  exchanges  there  have  raised 
$6,000  for  the  sufferers. 

Dr.  C.  P.  Wertenbacker,  in  charge  of  the  Marine  Hospital  Ser- 
vice in  New  Orleans,  has  arrived  here.  He  has  special  instructions 
to  look  after  the  welfare  of  steamers  which  may  be  in  distress  in 
Galveston.  Dr.  Wertenbacker  believes  that  two  camps  may  have 
to  be  established  by  the  Government,  one  for  those  who  cannot 
leave  Galveston  and  one  for  those  who  may  come  here.  The 
National  Government  will  send  the  necessary  tents,  and  the  local 
authorities  are  providing  cots  in  large  numbers. 

AN    APPEAL   TO    THE    FREE    MASONS. 

Houston,  Tex.,  Sept.  12. — An  appeal  has  been  sent  out  by  the 
Masonic  Grand  Master  to  the  Masonic  lodges  and  members  in 
Texas,  urging  them  to  remit  or  contribute  to  the  assistance  of  the 
destitute. 

Grand  Commander  W.  F.  Randolph,  of  North  Carolina 
Knights  Templar,  to-day  telegraphed  the  following  to  subordinate 
commanders  of  North  Carolina: 

"Our  fraters  in  Texas  in  dire  distress  because  of  recent  storm. 
Immediate  relief  imperative.  Grand  Master  appeals  for  funds. 
Wire  or  send  quickly  to  Henry  B.  Stoddard,  Deputy  Grand  Mas- 
ter, Galveston,  Tex." 

SUBSCRIPTIONS    UNDER   WAY. 

Wilmington,  Del.,  Sept.  12. — H.  L.  Evans  &  Co..  bankers  of 
Wilmington,  to-day  started  a  fund  to  help  the  storm  sufferers  at 
Galveston.  Bishop  Monaghan,  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  in 
response  to  a  telegram  from  Bishop  Gallagher,  of  Galveston,  has 
also  started  a  relief  movement.  The  money  which  was  collected 
by  the  city  during  the  Porto  Rico  famine  is  still  in  the  possession 
of  Mayor  Fahey,  and  it  is  likely  that  it  will  be  turned  over  for  the 
relief  of  the  people  of  Galveston. 

Atlanta,   Ga.,  Sept.    12. — At  a  special  meeting  of  the  City 


CRY  OF  DISTRESS  IN  GALVESTON.  75 

Council  this  afterroon  $2500  was  appropriated  for  the  Galveston 
storm  sufferers.  Private  subscriptions  have  amounted  to  more  than 
this  amount,  and  to-day  $4771  was  sent  to  Galveston. 

Liverpool,  Sept.  12. — At  a  meeting  convened  by  the  Lord 
Mayor  of  Liverpool,  England,  it  was  decided  to  open  a  relief  fund 
for  the  sufferers  from  the  Galveston  disaster,  and  ^1500  was 
immediately  subscribed,  exclusive  of  over  ;^500  raised  by  the  cotton 
association.  The  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Liverpool  has  passeo 
a  resolution  expressing  deep  sympathy  with  the  people  of  Gal- 
veston. 

PROTECTION  OF  GALVESTON  A  COSTLY  PROBLEM. 

To  protect  the  city  of  Galveston  from  the  ravages  of  future 
cyclones  would  be  almost  as  costly  as  to  re-establish  the  city  on  a 
new  site.  This  is  the  opinion  of  eminent  engineers  in  Washing- 
ton. To  insure  the  maintenance  of  the  channel  it  has  been  neces- 
sary to  erect  jetties,  which  have  cost  more  than  ^6,000,000,  but 
these  jetties  do  not  furnish  any  obstacle  of  value  to  the  invasion  of 
the  sea  when  behind  it  is  a  force  such  as  a  West  Indian  cyclone 
exerts. 

Because  of  the  effect  of  storms  upon  the  Gulf  coast  it  has  been 
customary  for  engineer  officers  stationed  at  Galveston  to  report 
yearly  upon  the  appearance  of  atmospheric  disturbances  of  more 
than  usual  intensity,  and  Captain  Rich,  the  engineer  of&cer,  who 
is  believed  to  have  lost  his  life,  stated  in  his  report  for  1899  that 
storms  which  occurred  during  April,  May  and  June,  1899,  "  carried 
away  nearly  all  that  remained  of  construction  trestle  and  track,  and 
caused  more  or  less  settlement  of  the  jetties." 

The  need  of  a  safe  deep  water  harbor  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
has  long  been  appreciated,  and  in  1899  Congress  passed  an  act 
directing  the  Secretary  of  War  to  appoint  a  board  of  three  engineer' 
of&cers  of  the  army  to  make  a  careful  and  critical  examination  of 
the  American  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  west  of  93  degrees  and 
30  minutes  west  longitude,  and  to  "  report  as  to  the  most  eligible 
point  or  points  for  a  deep  harbor,  to  be  of  ample  depth,  width  and 
capacity  to  accommodate  the  largest  ocean  going  vessels  and  the 


76  CRY  OF  DISTRESS  IN   GALVESTON. 

commercial  and  naval  necessities  of  tlie  conntr3\"  The  Board  con- 
sisted of  Lieutenant  Colonels  H.  V.  Roberts,  G.  L.  Gillespie  and 
Jared  A.  Smith.  The  Board  reported  that  Galveston  was  the  most 
eligible  point  for  a  deep  harbor,  but  also  called  attention  to  the 
harbors  at  Sabine  and  Aransas  Passes  as  being  worthy  of  consid- 
eration. 

STORM    TRAVELED    OVER    THREE    THOUSAND    MILES. 

Under  date  of  September  13th  a  prominent  journal  commented 
as  follows  on  the  great  storm : 

"  Fast  disappearing  into  the  Atlantic  by  way  of  Cape  Breton 
Island  the  great  West  Indian  hurricane  is  passing  into  history  so 
far  as  the  United  States  is  concerned. 

"  For  twelve  days  this  storm  has  been  under  the  surveillance 
of  the  Weather  Bureau.  During:  this  time  it  has  traveled  more 
than  3,000  miles,  and  has  described  in  its  course  a  perfect  parabola. 
When  the  storm  began  its  "swing  around  the  circle  "  at  Galveston 
its  intensity  was  greater  than  it  has  been  since,  although  as  it  goes 
to  sea  to-night  if  is  reported  to  be  again  assuming  teriinc  propor- 
tions. 

"  Its  course  no\v  lies  directly  in  the  path  of  the  North  Atlantic 
Liners,  and  what  future  destruction  it  may  wreak  remains  to  be 
seen  from  reports  of  incoming  vessels.  Until  the  West  Indian 
hurricane  made  its  appearance  the  United  States  had  been  for  ex- 
actly two  months  without  a  storm,  which  is  the  longest  period  on 
record  since  the  establishment  of  the  Government  Weather  Bureau. 
With  the  disappearance  of  this  storm,  another  disturbance  is  re- 
ported near  the  west  Gulf  coast,  with  an  arm  of  barometic  depres- 
sion extending  northward  into  Western  Tennessee." 

NOT  MEN  ENOUGH  TO  HANDLE  THE  DEAD. 

Further  details  of  the  great  disaster  were  as  follows  :  The  citi- 
zens of  Galveston  are  straining  every  nerve  to  clear  the  ground 
and  secure  from  beneath  the  debris  the  bodies  of  human  beings 
and  animals  and  to  get  rid  of  them.  It  is  a  task  of  great  magni- 
tuce  and  is  attended  with  untold  difficulties.      There  is  a  shortage 


CRY   OF  DISTRESS   IN  GALVESTON.  77 

of  liorses  to  liaul  tlie  dead  and  there  is  a  shortage  of  willing  hands 
to  perform  the  gruesome  work.  It  became  apparent  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  bury  the  dead,  even  in  trenches,  and  arrangements 
were  made  to  take  them  to  sea. 

Barges  and  tugs  were  quickly  made  ve&dy  for  the  purpose,  but 
it  was  difficult  to  get  men  to  do  the  work.  The  city's  firemen 
worked  hard  in  bringing  bodies  to  the  wharf,  but,  outside  of  them, 
there  were  few  who  helped.  Soldiers  and  policemen  were  accord- 
ingly sent  out,  and  every  able-bodied  man  they  found  was  marched 
to  the  wharf  front.  The  men  were  worked  in  relays,  and  were  sup- 
plied with  stimulants  to  nerve  them  for  their  task. 

At  nightfall  three  barge  loads,  containing  about  700  human 
bodies,  had  been  sent  to  sea,  where  they  were  sunk  with  weights. 
Darkness  compelled  suspension  of  the  work  until  morning.  Toward 
night  great  difficulty  was  experienced  in  handling  the  bodies  of 
negroes,  which  are  badly  decomposed. 

No  effort  was  made  after  9  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  place 
the  bodies  in  morgues  for  identification,  for  it  was  imperative 
that  the  dead  should  be  gotten  to  sea  as  soon  as  pos-sible.  Many 
of  the  bodies  taken  out  are  unidentified.  They  are  placed  on  the 
barges  as  quickly  as  possible  and  lists  made  while  the  barges  are 
being  towed  to  soa. 

A  large  number  of  dead  animals  were  hauled  to  the  bay  and 
dumped  in,  to  be  ^carried  to  sea  by  the  tides. 

REIJEF    TRAIN    FROM    HOUSTON. 

A  relief  train  from  Houston,  with  250  men  on  board,  and  two 
carloads  of  provisions,  came  down  over  the  Galveston,  Houston  & 
Northern  Railroad  yesterday  to  a  point  about  five  miles  from  Vir- 
ginia Point.  It  was  impossible  for  them  to  get  the  provisions  or 
any  considerable  number  of  the  men  to  Galveston,  so  they  turned 
their  attention  to  burying  the  dead  lying  around  the  mainland 
country. 

There  is  no  fresh  water  famine  here,  as  the  pipes  from  the 
supply  works  are  running  at  the  receiving  tanks.  It  is  difficult, 
however,  to  get  it  to  p..rts  of  the  city  where  it  is  needed. 


78  CRY  OF  DISTRESS  IN  GAI.VESTON. 

ROBBERY    AND     MUTILATION     OF    THE    DEAD. 

A  reporter  has  telegraphed  from  La  Porte  the  stor}?  of  the 
robbery  and  mutilation  of  the  dead  in  Galveston  and  death  of  the 
offenders. 

Ghouls  were  holding  an  orgie  over  the  dead.  The  majority 
of  these  men  were  negroes,  but  there  were  also  whites  who  took 
part  in  the  desecration.  Some  of  them  were  natives  and  some  had 
been  allowed  to  go  over  from  the  mainland,  under  the  guise  of 
"relief"  work.  Not  only  did  they  rob  the  dead,  but  they  mutil- 
ated bodies  in  order  to  secure  their  ghoulish  booty.  A  party  of 
ten  negroes  were  returning  from  a  looting  expedition.  They  had 
stripped  corpses  of  all  valuables,  and  the  pockets  of  some  of  the 
looters  were  fairly  bulging  out  with  fingers  of  the  dead,  which  had 
been  cut  off  because  they  were  so  swollen  the  rings  could  not  be 
removed. 

Incensed  at  ihii  desecration  and  mutilation  of  the  dead,  the 
looters  Avere  shot  down,  and  it  has  been  determined  that  all  found 
in  the  act  of  -robbing  dead  shall  be  summarily  shot. 

During  the  robbing  of  the  dead,  not  only  were  fingers  cut  off, 
but  ears  were  stripped  from  the  head  in  order  to  secure  jewels  of 
value.  A  few  Government  troops  who  survived  have  been  assisting 
in  patrolling  the  city.  Private  citizens  have  also  endeavored  to 
prevent  the  robbing  of  the  dead,  and  on  several  occasions  have 
killed  the  offenders.  Singly  and  in  twos  and  threes  the  offenders 
were  thus  shot  down,  until  the  total  of  those  thus  executed  exceeds 
fully  '^"ty. 

A  REFUGEE'S    STATEMENT. 

J.  W.  B.  Smith,  who  went  to  Galveston  from  Denver,  was  in 
Saturday  night's  storm,  and  reached  Houston,  after  having  an  ex- 
perience which  he  will  remember  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

He  started  from  the  city  on  Monday  afternoon,  and  in  walking 
from  the  foot  of  Broadway  to  the  Santa  Fe  bridge,  counted  two 
hundred  dead  bodies  hung  up  on  wire  fences,  to  say  nothing  of 
those  floating  in  the  water.     He  constructed  a  raft  out  of  planks, 


CRY  OF  DISTRESS  IN   GAIvVESTON.  79 

and  in  company  with  Clegg  Stewart,  made  for  the  mainland,  which 
they  reached  after  honrs  of  exposure. 

In  every  direction  crossing  the  bay  the}^  saw  the  feet  of  corpses 
sticking  out  of  the  water.  Upon  reaching  land  they  walked  to 
Hitchcock,  Mr.  Stewart's  home,  and  found  that  twenty-five  persons 
had  lost  their  lives  there,  and  that,  in  addition,  fifty  bodies  that  had 
floated  ashore  had  been  buried  near  there. 

MONEY  BADLY   NEEDED. 

The  Galveston  local  relief  committee  sent  out  the  following  i 

"  We  ^re  receiving  numerous  telegrams  of  condolence  and 
olfers  of  assistance.  As  the  telegraph  wires  are  burdened,  we  beg 
the  Associated  Press  to  communicate  this  response  to  all.  Nearby 
cities  are  supplying  and  will  supply  sufficient  food,  clothing,  etc., 
,or  immediate  needs.  Cities  farther  away  can  serve  us  best  by 
:  ending  money.  Checks  should  be  made  payable  to  John  Sealy, 
Chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee. 

"  All  supplies  should  come  to  W.  A.  McVitie,  Chairman  Relief 
Committee.  We  have  25,000  people  to  clothe  and  feed,  for  many 
weeks,  and  to  furnish  with  household  goods.  Most  of  these  are 
homeless  and  the  others  require  money  to  make  their  wrecked  resi- 
dences habitable.  From  this  the  world  may  understand  how  much 
money  we  will  need.  This  committee  will,  from  time  to  time,  re- 
port our  needs  with  more  particularity.  We  refer  tc  despatch 
of  this  date  of  Major  R.  G.  Lowe,  which  the  committee  fully  en 
dorses. 

"  All  communicants  will  please  accept  this  answer  in  lieu  of 
direct  response  and  be  assured  of  the  heartfelt  gratitude  of  the 
entire  population.  [Signed]  "  W.  C.  Jones,  Mayor." 

CARNEGIE'S  PRINCELY   GIFT. 

The  Carnegie  Company,  of  Pittsburg,  was  foremost  in  the 
contributions  to  the  relief  of  the  sufferers  at  Galveston.  At  the 
meeting  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  a  motion  to  contribute  ^5000 
was  under  discussion,  when  a  representative  of  the  Carnegie  Com- 
pany entered  and  said  that  he  had  been  authorized  by  Mr.  Carnegie 


80  CRY   OF  DISTRESS   IN    GAl^VESTON. 

tlirougli  a  cablegram  to  give  $10,000  for  the  distressed.     The:  an- 
nouncement was  greeted  with  applause. 

GREAT  TIDAL  WAVES  IN  THE  WORLDS    HISTORY. 

The  tidal  wave  along  the  Texan  coast  will  rank  among  the 
jaost  disastrous  in  history.  History  is  deficient  in  the  record  of 
ruch  tragedies  in  human  life,  but  the  records  are  written  in  physi- 
cal geography,  and  are  found  in  the  conformation  of  shore  lines, 
here  and  there,  around  all  the  continents.  It  is  impossible  to  esti- 
mate the  number  of  lives  lost  through  inundations  since  mankinc 
began,  for  purposes  of  commercial  in*-ercourse,  the  development  of 
seaports.  Doubtless  the  total  would  run  into  the  hundreds  of 
thousands,  and  might  reach  into  millions. 

Geology  is  quite  sure  that  '.he  rough  Norwegian  coast,  pierced 
at  intervals  of  every  few  mil'ES  with  the  fiords  or  estuaries  which 
penetrate  in  many  instanc^-.s  leagues  into  the  land,  tell  the  story  of 
mau}^  cataclysms  such  ?.s  that  which  has  just  occurred  along  the 
northern  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Science,  however,  taking  no 
note  of  the  traditions  or  folklore  of  a  people,  antedates  all  human 
life  on  the  Scandinavian  peninsula  in  setting  the  time  when  this 
great  rising  of  the  sea  against  the  land  took  place. 

Scientists  are  agreed  on  putting  the  formation  of  the  Norwe- 
gian shore  lines  as  far  back  as  the  glacial  period.  But  in  the 
songs  of  the  skalds,  as  late  as  the  reign  of  Harold  Hardrada^  there 
are  allusions  to  the  valor  of  olden  heroes  over  whom  the  seas  had 
swept,  but  whose  spirits  rode  upon  the  winds  which  blew  the  Nor- 
man galleys  to  other  shores.  In  the  Norway  of  the  present  day 
there  are  traditions,  handed  down  through  countless  gf^nerations, 
from  the  remotest  antiquity,  telling  how,  but  not  ^A'hen,  the  seas 
came  in. 

OLD   AND    CHARMING   TRADITI07^. 

One  of  the  oldest  and  prettiest  traditions  in  the  wcrld  is  that 
which  tells  of  a  submerged  city  somewhere  on  the  Scandinavian 
coast,  the  minarets  and  Lowers  of  which  poets  can  Sr.e  refl  ^cled  in 
the  waters  at  sunset,  and   the  bells  of  which  musicians,  v'/Ai  ears 


HON.    JOSEPH     D.    SAVERS 

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CRY   OF   DISTRESS   IN   GALVKSTON.  81 

divinely  attuned  to  concordant  sounds,  can  hear  at  vespers.  With- 
out either  the  poet's  eye  or  the  musician's  ear  it  is  still  possible  to 
conclude  that  traditions  which  have  survived  so  many  centuries, 
and  which  contradict  nothing  of  the  exact  truth  of  science  as  to 
original  causes,  may  be  as  well  trusted  as  science  when  it  begins  to 
speculate,  which  is  all  it  does  when  it  seeks  to  prove  that  the  Scan- 
dinavian fiords  were  in  the  country  before  the  Scandinavian  himself. 

STORY    OF   THE   LOST  ATLANTIS. 

The  world,  with  the  lapse  of  centuries,  has  not  even  been  able 
to  outgrow  the  tradition  of  the  lost  Atlantis.  Perhaps  this  is  the 
oldest  of  all  traditions  of  cataclysms  which  have  blotted  out  cities 
and  continents.  It  may  be  that  it  is  because  this  one  comes 
handed  down  to  us  from  the  illustrous  hand  of  Plato  that  we  yield 
to  it  a  veneration  which  prolongs  its  life.  Certainly  it  can  never 
be  more  than  tradition,  without  a  return  to  the  ages  of  miracles. 
Our  lately  found  expertness  in  deep  sea  soundings  have  given  us 
no  new  light  on  Atlantis. 

And  yet  we  cling  to  the  old  story,  and  are  loath  to  turn  from 
the  spectacle  of  a  continent  in  the  agonies  of  a  watery  burial,  or  to 
take  down  from  the  walls  of  our  brain  cells  the  pictures  of  a  sub- 
merged world  in  which  sea  moss  trails  over  and  around  great  tem- 
ples and  monuments.  More  than  half  the  world  believes  that  there 
is  a  lost  Atlantis.  The  Egyptians  believed  so,  long  before  Plato's 
day.  It  is  in  the  mouth  of  an  Egyptian  priest,  talking  to  Solon,  that 
Plato  puts  the  description  of  the  vanished  land.  That  description 
makes  of  Atlantis  a  land  larger  than  the  Texas  of  to-day. 

BELIEVED    THE    SEA    HAD    CONCEALED   A    LAND. 

The  Greek  philosopher  located  it  off  the  shores  of  North 
Africa,  a  little  to  the  southwest  of  Gibraltar.  The  Platonian  de- 
scription of  the  interior  of  the  Atlantis  of  ancient  times  is  surpass- 
ingly beautiful,  but  not  more  so  ihan  the  rare  imaginative  power 
with  which  Plato  writes  of  the  country  and  its  people,  a  most  fabu- 
lous and  engaging  history. 

All  this,  of  course,  is  the   work  of  pure  fancy,  and  only  im- 


82  CRY   OF   DISTRESS   IN    GALM:ST0N. 

portaut,  beyond  tlie  fact  that  it  is  tlie  work  of  Plato,  as  showing 
how  deeply  the  conviction  had  taken  hold  npon  the  mind  of  that 
age  that  the  sea  had  taken  away  a  land  which  the  ancients  knew 
as  the  western  shore  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  had  left  nothing 
but  a  boundless  waste  of  waters  west  of  Europe.  Speculators  have 
located  the  lost  Atlantis  near  the  Canary  Islands,  and  these  islands 
are,  in  fact,  supposed  to  be  the  remnants  of  the  lost  continent. 
There  is  positively  nothing  tangible  upon  which  to  hang  the  story 
of  the  lost  Atlantis. 

But,  like  most  traditions  which  persist  in  living  on  after  the 
world  has  grown  too  practical  to  have  any  more  use  for  them, 
it  has,  doubtless,  a  foundation  in  some  important  fact  of  olden 
time,  the  tragedy  of  which  was  in  that  sacrifice  of  the  earth  to  the 
waters  of  the  deep,  which  had  become  familiar  even  to  the  ancients. 
Byron's  apostrophe  to  the  ocean  is  so  singularly  powerful  and 
beautiful  because  it  expresses  that  awe  and  fear  of  man  for  the  sea 
which  is  an  instinct  with  us,  and  which,  if  it  had  not  been  instinct 
with  us  at  the  first,  would  have  become  so  through  the  many  and 
heavy  afilictions  visited  upon  the  race  by  Neptune,  god  of  the  sea. 

TIDAL  WAVES  ON   ENGLISH  COASTS. 

I 

That  the  coasts  of  England  have  been  visited  by  many  and 
disastrous  tidal  waves  there  is  abundant  evidence.  In  fact,  the 
ocean  bar,  which  surrounds  nearly  the  whole  of  England  and  Scot- 
land, is  evidence  enough  that  the  entire  shore  line,  as  it  exists  to- 
day, is  itself  the  result  of  a  great  submersion,  or  series  of  submer- 
sions, which  ages  ago  overflowed  the  old  coast,  rushed  in  shore, 
made  new  land  lines,  and,  hollowing  out  between  the  new  line  and 
the  old,  a  new  ocean  bed,  leaving  what  had  been  called  the  coast 
lin^  to  be  forever  after  called  the  "bar."  The  bar  is  to  be  found 
in  nearly  every  port  of  England,  eloquent  testimony  to  the  tidal 
waves  of  the  past.  But  there  is  comparatively  little  of  other  testi- 
mony save  such  as  has  been  preserved  in  the  records  of  seaport 
towns. 

One  of  the  greatest  cataclysms  ever  occurring  on  the  British 
coast  was  that  on  the  coast  of  Lincolnshire  in   1571.     This  has 


CRY  OF  DISTRESS  IN   GAI^VESTO^'  «^ 

been  commemorated  in  verse  by  Jean  Ingelow  in  tbe  poem  entitled 
"  High  Tide  Off  the  Coast  of  Lincolnshire."  The  Linconshire 
coast  is  almost  uniformly  low  and  marshy — so  low,  in  fact,  at  some 
places  that  the  shore  requires  the  defence  of  an  embankment  to 
save  it  from  the  encroachments  of  the  sea. 

A  sea  wall  had  been  built  when  the  great  tidal  wave  of  1571 
came,  but  it  appears  to  have  been  absolutely  useless  as  a  defence  of 
the  country  and  the  people  of  that  time. 

At  the  present  day  the  fens  of  Lincolnshire  are  defended  from 
the  North  Sea  by  some  of  the  finest  engineering  works  in  the 
world,  and  yet  it  is  much  to  be  doubted  whether  they  would  prove 
effective  against  such  invasions  as  that  which  has  just  over- 
whelmed Galveston. 

GREAT    INUNDATION    OF    1571. 

There  are  ancient  town  records  in  nearly  all  the  seacoast  towns 
Oi*  Lincolnshire  which  tell  of  the  inundation  of  1571.  There  was 
then  as  there  is  now,  a  chime  of  bells  in  the  tower  of  St.  Botolph, 
Boston,  and  when  the  tide  was  seen  to  be  sweeping  away  the  bar- 
riers the  Mayor  of  Boston  himself  mounted  the  belfry  stairs  and 
had  played  the  old  love  song  called  ''The  Brides  of  Bnderby"  as 
an  alarm  to  the  country  side. 

But  the  tide  came  so  unheralded,  there  having  been  no  premo- 
nition of  it  in  storm  or  tempest,  that  the  meaning  of  the  chimes 
was  not  understood.  Savants  have  never  had  an  explanation  of 
the  Lincolnshire  tide,  coming  as  it  did  so  unheralded  by  anything 
threatening  a  cataclysm.  The  flood  found  the  people  unprepared 
and  thousands  fell  victims  to  its  fury. 

There  is  nothing  in  literature,  and  nothing  of  course  in  the 
musty  archives  of  the  Lincolnshire  towns,  conveying  as  vivid  an 
impression  of  the  horror  of  the  day  and  night  as  the  Ingelow 
verses.  They  are  written  in  the  old,  and  what  now  seems  to  us  the 
quaint,  English  of  that  day. 

The  story  is  told  by  an  old  woman  whose  daughter,  out  with 
her  two  children  looking  and  r-^^^'usr  ^or  the  cows  at  eventide,  is 
overwhelmed  and  drowned 


84  CRY   OF  DISTRESS   IX  CiALVHSTON. 

A  REAL  TRAGEDY  AT  GALVESTON. 

Perhaps  it  is  a  safe  conclusion  that  the  tragedy  poetry  as  set 
for  us  on  the  Lincolnshire  stage  had  found  expression  in  real  life 
along  the  Texas  coasts.  The  old  Lincolnshire  woman's  plaintive 
narrative  has  never  seemed  unreal,  because  it  is  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  a  homely  life,  but  just  now  it  seems  like  a  voice  from  out 
the  past  telling  us  of  the  tragedy  now  at  our  doors.  The  poem  is 
a  very  long  one,  but  a  few  selections  from  its  narration  of  the  wide- 
spread desolation  of  the  country  will  picture  much  of  the  gulf  coast 
of  Texas  at  this  time.  The  cry  of  the  housewife  for  the  cattle  dies 
out  in  the  evening  stillness  and  then  the  old  dame  sees  the  flood  : 

And  lo,  along  the  river's  bed 

A  mighty  eygre  reared  his  crest, 

And  up  the  river  raging  sped. 

It  swept  with  thunderous  noises  loud — 

Shaped  like  a  curling,  snow-white  cloud. 

Or  like  a  demon  in  a  shroud. 

And  rearing  Lindus,  backward  pressed. 
Shook  all  her  trembling  banks  amain. 
Then  madly  at  the  eygre's  breast 
Flung  uppe  her  weltering  walls  again, 
Then  bankes  came  down  with  ruin  and  rout, 
Then  beaten  foam  flew  round  about, 
Then  all  the  mighty  floods  were  out. 

So  farre,  so  fast  the  eygre  drave 
The  heart  had  hardly  time  to  beat 
Before  a  shallow  seething  wave 
Sobbed  in  the  grasses  at  our  feet ; 
The  feet  had  hardly  time  to  flee 
Before  it  brake  against  the  knee — 
And  all  the  world  was  in  the  sea. 

That  flow  strewed  wrecks  about  the  grass, 
That  ebbe  swept  out  the  flocks  to  sea — 


CRY  OF  DISTRESS  IN  GALVESTON.  85 

A  fatal  ebbe  and  flow,  alas, 

To  many  more  than  mine  and  me. 

TIDES    AND    EARTHQUAKES. 

Many  of  the  most  fatal  tidal  waves  of  which  we  have  any  his 
tory,  have  been  accompanied  by  earthquakes,  adding  to  their  hor- 
rors, but  making  it  impossible  to  say  whether  the  earthquake  or 
the  inundation  has  been  the  more  fatal  and  destructive.  The  great 
earthquake  at  Lisbon  in  1755  was  accompanied  by  a  tidal  wave 
v/hich,  rolling  up  the  Tagus  river  from  the  ocean,  submerged  all 
the  lower  parts  of  the  city  and  destroyed  thousands  of  lives  which 
might  possibl}^  have  escaped  the  earthquake  shocks. 

When  the  earthquake  came  to  Caraccas  in  18 12  there  was  a 
tidal  wave  at  La  Guyra,  the  entrepot  of  Caraccas,  which  destroyed 
many  lives.  Five  years  ago  a  series  of  tidal  waves,  accompanied 
by  or  alternating  with  earthquake  shocks,  visited  some  of  the  most 
populous  islands  of  Japan.  The  tidal  waves  reached  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  miles  inland,  being  of  such  a  height,  force  and  volume, 
ten  miles  from  the  ocean,  particularly  when  restricted  to  narrow 
valleys,  as  to  be  capable  of  destroying  much  life. 

The  number  of  human  lives  lost  at  that  time  has  never  been 
Ltaled  in  any  English  newspaper,  but  that  it  ran  far  into  the  thou- 
sands there  is  no  room  to  doubt.  Ten  thousand  is  more  apt  to  be 
an  under  than  an  over  estimate,  such  were  the  ravages  of  the  com- 
bined seismic  and  cataclysmic  terrors  visited  upon  that  part  of  the 
world  during  nearly  a  week  of  days  and  nights  of  horror,  which, 
fortunately,  come  but  seldom  in  the  experience  of  the  race. 

The  affliction  of  Texas,  while  much  less  than  this,  is  still 
monumental,  and  will  always  rank  among  the  great  catastrophes 
of  history.  Perhaps  there  have  been  events  more  destructive  of 
life  in  times  or  places  where  it  was  impossible  that  any  record  of 
them  should  be  left.  But  few  such  are  known  to  history.  Nor  is 
it  likely  that  the  future  will  .often  bring  to  any  part  of  the  world  a 
severer  affliction  than  that  which  has  fallen  upon  our  Gulf  coast. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Vivid  Pictures  of  Suffering  in  Every  Street  and  House — The 
Gulf  City  a  Gha«tly  Mass  of  Ruins— The  Sea  Giving  Up 
Its  Dead — Supplies  Pouring  in  from  Every  Quarter. 

AS  more  definite  information  came  from  Galveston  and  tlie 
other  coast  towns  of  Texas  that  were  in  the  path  of  the 
storm,  the  horrors  of  the  situation  increased.  Most  people 
were  inclined  to  look  upon  the  first  reports,  made  in  a  hurry  and 
in  intense  excitement,  as  grossly  exaggerated,  but  the  first  reports 
from  Texas,  far  from  being  overdrawn,  greatly  understated  the 
destructive  effects  of  the  storm. 

Thousands  of  persons  lost  their  lives,  and   many  thousands 

more  lost  all  their  homes  and  all  their  possessions.     A  large  popu- 

fction    was  without   shelter,  clothing,  food  and    medicine,  in   the 

midst  of  scenes  of  wreck  and   ruin.     The  sanitary  condition    of 

Galveston  was  appalling  and  threatened  a  season  of  pestilence. 

TERRIBLE  SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  SURVIVORS. 

The  people  were  undergoing  a  period  of  the  sharpest  depriva- 
tion, sickness  prevailed,  and  intense  suffering  was  in  store  for 
them.  The  plight  of  the  city  and  its  inhabitants  was  such  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  picture,  and  demanded  from 
the  prosperous  and  humane  everywhere  the  promptest  and  most 
abundant  outpouring  of  gifts. 

Food,  clothing,  household  goods,  provisions  of  every  kind, 
household  utensils,  medicines  and  money  were  needed  by  the 
stricken  city  and  its  impoverished  men,  women  and  children. 
There  has  been  no  case  in  our  history  which  appealed  more 
strongly  for  sympathy  and  aid. 

Former  State  Senator  Wortham,  who  went  to  Galveston  as  the 
special  aid  to  Adjutant-General  Scurry  to  investigate  the  condi- 
tions there,  returned  to  Austin  and  made  his  report.     He  said: 

"I  am  convinced  that  the  city  is   practically  wrecked  for   all 

86 


THE   GULF   CITY  A  MASS  OF   RUINS.  87 

time  to  come.  Fully  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  business  portion 
of  the  town  is  irreparably  wrecked,  and  the  same  per  cent,  of  dam- 
age is  to  be  found  in  the  residence  district. 

"  Along  the  wharf  front  great  ocean  steamships  have  bodily 
bumped  themselves  on  to  the  big  piers  and  lie  there,  great  masses 
of  iron  and  wood  that  even  fire  cannot  totally  destroy. 

"The  great  warehouses  along  the  water  front  are  smashed  in 
on  one  side,  unroofed  and  shattered  throughout  their  length,  the 
contents  either  piled  in  heaps  on  the  wharves  or  on  the  streets. 
Small  tugs  and  sailboats  have  jammed  themselves  half  into  build- 
ings, where  they  were  landed  by  the  incoming  waves  and  left  by 
the  receding  waters.  Houses  are  packed  and  jammed  in  great 
confusing  masses  in   all  of  the  streets. 

BODIES  PILED  IN  THE  STREETS. 

"Great  piles  of  human  bodies,  dead  animals,  rotting  vegeta- 
tion, household  furniture  and  fragments  of  the  houses  themselves 
are  piled  in  confused  heaps  right  in  the  main  streets  of  the  city. 
Along  the  Gulf  front  human  bodies  are  floating  around  like  cord- 
wood.  Intermingled  with  them  are  to  be  found  the  carcasses  of 
horses,  chickens,  dogs  and  rotting  vegetable  matter. 

"  Along  the  Strand,  adjacent  to  the  Gulf  front,  where  are 
located  all  the  big  wholesale  warehouses  and  stores,  the  situation 
almost  defies  description.  Great  stores  of  fresh  vegetation  have 
been  invaded  by  the  incoming  waters  and  are  now  turned  into  gar- 
bage piles  of  most  defouling  odors.  The  Gulf  waters,  while  on  the 
land,  played  at  will  with  everything,  smashing  in  doors  of  stores, 
depositing  bodies  of  human  beings  and  animals  where  they 
pleased  and  then  receded,  leaving  the  wreckage  to  tell  its  own  tale 
of  how  the  work  had  been  done.  As  a  result  the  great  houses  are 
tombs  wherein  are  to  be  found  the  bodies  of  human  beings  and 
carcasses  almost  defying  the  efforts  of  relief  parties. 

"  In  the  piles  of  debris  along  the  street,  in  the  water  and 
scattered  throughout  the  residence  portion  of  the  city,  are  masses 
of  wreckage,  and  in  these  great  piles  are  to  be  found  more  human 
bodies  and  household  furniture  of  every  description. 


88  THE   GULF   CITY   A   MASS   OF   RUINS. 

"The  waters  of  tlie  Gulf  and  the  winds  spared  no  one  who 
was  exposed.  Whirling  houses  around  in  its  grasp  the  wind  piled 
their  shattered  frames  high  in  confusing  masses  and  dumped  their 
contents  on  top.  Alen  and  women  were  thrown  around  like  so 
many  logs  of  wood. 

ALL  SUFFERED  INJURY. 

*'I  believe  that  with  the  very  best  exertions  of  the  men  it  will 
require  weeks  to  obtain  some  semblance  of  physical  order  in  the 
city,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  even  then  all  the  debris  will  be  disposed  of 

"There  is  hardly  a  family  on  the  island  wl  ose  household  has 
not  lost  a  member  or  more,  and  in  some  instances  entire  families 
have  been  washed  away  or  killed. 

"Hundreds  who  escaped  from  the  waves  did  so  only  to  become 
the  victims  of  a  worse  death,  being  crushed  by   falling  buildings. 

''Down  in  the  business  section  of  the  city  the  foundations  of 
great  buildings  have  given  way,  carrying  towering  structures  to 
their  ruin.  These  ruins,  falling  across  the  streets,  formed  barri- 
cades on  which  gathered  all  the  floating  debris  and  many  human 
bodies.     Many  of  these  bodies  were  stripped  of  their  clothing. 

"  Some  of  the  most  conservative  men  on  the  island  place  the 
loss  of  human  beings  at  not  less  than  7500  and  possibly  10,000. 
The  live  stock  on  the  island  has  been  completely  annihilated. 

"I  consider  that  every  interest  on  the  island  has  suffered.  Not 
one  has  escaped.  From  the  great  dock  company  to  the  humblest 
individual  the  loss  has  been  felt  and  in  many  instances  it  is  irre- 
parable. In  cases  where  houses  have  been  left  standing  the  con- 
tents are  more  or  less  damaged,  but  in  the  large  majority  of  cases 
the  houses  themselves  did  not  escape  injury." 

At  fifteen  minutes  to  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Thursday 
the  13th,  for  the  first  time  since  Saturday  afternoon  at  twenty-six 
minutes  after  four  o'clock,  Galveston  was  in  telegraphic  communi- 
cation with  the  outside  world,  although  not  open  for  business  com- 
pletely. 

The  cable  left  Chicago  on  Sunday  morning  and  was  laid 
across  the  bay,  and  several  thousand  telegraph  poles  on  the  main- 


THE   GULF   CiTY   A    MASS   OF   RUINS.  89 

land  were  straightened  np  by  a  force  of  250  men  under  tlie  super- 
vision of  superintendents  of  the  Western  Union. 

Concerning  the  great  calamity,  the  destruction  of  life  and 
property,  the  view  expressed  by  a  prominent  citizen  was  very 
generally  approved.     He  said  : 

"  The  people  and  military  of&cers  who  are  dooming  Galves- 
ton to  eternal  ruin  would  have  consigned  Lisbon  to  a  lasting 
chaos  after  her  earthquake  and  decried  and  abandoned  St. 
Louis  with  vacant  crumbling  houses  after  the  great  cyclone.  If 
the  citizens  of  Chicago  had  listened  to  their  despairing  notes, 
blackened  fragments  of  half-fallen  walls  and  shapeless  heaps  of 
brick  and  stone  would  still  be  the  fitting  monuments  to  proclaim 
their  broken  spirit. 

BLESSINGS  IN   DISGUISE. 

'  But  aix  the  reserves  of  human  energy  are  summoned  forth 
by  the  very  worst  disasters,  and  courage  should  be  written  on  the 
heart  of  Galveston.  It  is  the  time  to  lift  up  the  hands  of  her  strong 
men,  to  give  them  a  word  of  cheer,  for  they  are  bound  to  the  spot 
and  must  make  the  best  of  their  fate.  A  chorus  of  evil  predictions 
simply  multiplies  their  difficulties  and  is  a  cruelty  to  them, 
whether  it  is  intended  to  be  so  or  not. 

"  Let  the  dismal  prophets  reflect  a  moment.  Though  build- 
ings have  been  destroyed  there  is  rot  a  foot  of  land  on  the  island 
that  does  not  represent  savings.  Though  railroad  communica- 
tions have  been  cut  off,  the  cu/rents  of  commerce  by  the  land 
and  by  the  sea  are  merely  waiting  to  resume  their  courses.  Their 
is  a  capital  in  trade  connections  which  is  not  necessarily  wrecked 
along  with  wrecked  stores,  offi'^es  and  houses." 

C.  J.  Seale}^,  a  young  m-iu  of  Galveston,  Texas,  who  was  in 
La  Junta,  Colorado,  received  a  telegram  from  the  Mayor  of  Gal- 
veston informing  him  of  th*^  death  of  twenty-one  of  his  relatives, 
among  whom  were  his  mv^ther,  two  sisters  and  three  brothers. 
The  young  man  said  he  did  not  believe  he  had  a  relative  on  earth. 

An  eye-witness  of  the  desolation  described  the  scene  as  fol- 
lows : 


90  THE   GULF   CITY   A  MASS  OF  RUINS. 

"  Galveston  is  beginning  slowly  to  recover  from  the  stunning 
blow  of  last  week,  and  tbongli  tbe  city  appears  to-nigbt  to  be  piti- 
lessly desolated,  the  autliorities  and  the  commercial  and  industrial 
interests  are  setting  their  forces  to  work,  and  a  start  has  at  least 
been  made  toward  the  resumption  of  business  on  a  moderate  scale. 

"The  presence  of  the  troops  has  had  a  beneficial  effect  upon 
the  criminal  classes,  and  the  apprehension  of  a  brief  but  desperate 
reign  of  anarchy  no  longer  exists.  The  liquor  saloons  have  at 
least  temporarily  gone  out  of  business,  and  every  strong-limbed 
man  who  has  not  his  own  humble  abode  to  look  after  is  being 
pressed  into  service,  so  that,  first  of  all,  the  water  service  may  be 
resumed,  the  gutters  flushed  and  the  streets  lighted. 

BODIES   CONSTANTLY  COMING  TO   LIGHT. 

''The  further  the  ruins  are  dug  into  the  greater  becomes  the 
increase  in  the  list  of  those  who  perished  as  their  houses  tumbled 
about  their  heads.  On  the  lower  beach  a  searching  party  found 
a  score  of  corpses  within  a  small  area,  going  to  show  that  the  bul- 
wark of  debris  that  lies  straight  across  the  island  conceals  more 
bodies  than  have  been  accounted  for. 

"Volunteer  gangs  continue  their  work  of  hurried  burial  of  the 
corpses  they  find  on  the  shores  of  Galveston  Island,  at  the  many 
neighboring  points  where  fatalities  attended  the  storm.  It  will 
probably  be  many  days,  yet,  however,  before  all  the  floating  bodies 
have  found  nameless  graves.  .       ' 

"Along  the  beach  they  are  constantly  being  washed  up. 
Whether  these  are  those  who  were  swept  out  into  the  Gulf  and 
drowned  or  are  simply  the  return  ashore  of  some  of  those  cast  into 
the  sea  to  guard  against  terrible  pestilence,  there  is  no  means  of 
knowing.  In  a  trip  across  the  bay  yesterday  I  counted  seven 
bodies  tossing  in  the  waves,  with  a  score  of  horses  and  cattle,  the 
stench  from  which  was  unbearable.  In  various  parts  of  the  city 
the  smell  of  decomposed  flesh  is  still  apparent.  Wherever  such 
instances  are  found  the  authorities  are  freely  disinfecting.  Onl}' 
to-day,  a  babe,  lashed  to  a  mattress,  was  picked  up  under  a  resi- 
dence in  the  very  heart  of  the  city  and  was  burned. 


THE   GULF   CITY   A   MASS   OF   RUINS.  ^t 

"  The  city  still  presents  the  appearance  of  widespread  wreck 
and  ruin.  Little  has  been  done  to  clear  the  streets  of  the  terrible 
tangle  of  wires  and  the  masses  of  wreck,  mortar,  slate,  stone  and 
glass  that  bestrew  them.  Many  of  the  sidewalks  are  impassable. 
Some  of  them  are  littered  with  debris.  Others  are  so  thickly  cov- 
ered with  slime  that  walking  on  them  is  out  of  the  question.  As' 
A  general  rule  substantial  frame  buildings  withstood  better  the 
blasts  of  the  gale  than  those  of  brick.  In  other  instances,  how- 
ever, small  wooden  structures,  cisterns  and  whole  sides  of  houses 
have  been  plumped  down  in  streets  or  back  yards  squares  away 
from  where  they  originally  stood, 

LOOKING   TO    THE    FUTURE. 

"  Here  and  there  business  men  have  already  put  men  to  work 
to  repair  the  damage  done,  but  in  the  main  the  commercial  inter- 
ests seem  to  be  uncertain  about  following  the  lead  of  those,  who, 
apparently,  show  faith  in  the  rapid  rehabilitation  of  the  island  city. 
The  appearance  of  the  newspapers  to-day,  after  a  suspension  of 
.several  days,  is  having  a  good  effect,  and  both  the  News  and  Tri- 
bune  are  urging  prompt  succoring  of  the  suffering,  and  then  equal 
promptness  in  reconstruction.  It  is  difficult  to  say  yet  what  the 
ultimate  effect  of  the  disaster  is  to  be  on  the  city.  Many  people 
have  left,  and  some  may  never  return.  The  experience  of  others 
still  here  was  so  frightful  that  not  all  will  remain  if  they  can  con- 
veniently find  occupation  in  other  cities. 

"The  bulk  of  the  population,  however,  is  only  temporarily  panic 
stricken,  and  there  are  hosts  of  those  who  helped  to  make  Galves- 
ton great  who  look  upon  the  catastrophe  as  involving  only  a  tem- 
porary halt  in  the  advancement  of  the  city. 

"  What  is  most  bothering  business  men  at  present  is  what 
attitude  the  railroads,  and  especially  the  Southern  Pacific,  are  to 
fiasume  with  respect  to  reconstruction.  The  decision  of  the  trans- 
portation lines  will  do  more  than  anything  else  to  restore  confi- 
dence. Big  ships,  new  arrivals,  rode  at  anchor  to-day  in  front  of 
the  city.  They  had  just  reached  the  port,  and  found  the  docks, 
and  pier  damage  so  widespread  that  no  accommodation  could  be 


92  THE"  GULF    CITY   A   MASS   OF    RUINS. 

given  to  them.     They  found  sheds  torn  away,  freight  cars  ovei- 
turned  and  planking  ripped  off. 

"The  steamships  reported  ashore  in  early  reports  are,  save  two, 
the  Norwegian  steamer  Gyller  and  the  British  steamer  Norma,  still 
high  and  dry. 

"  No  examination  is  yet  possible  as  to  the  condition  of  those 
still  on  the  sand,  but  the  big  tug  H.  C.  Wilmott  has  arrived  from 
New  Orleans,  and  her  assistance  is  to  be  given  to  saving  those 
vessels  which  can  be  gotten  into  deep  water  again.  Apparently, 
however,  Galveston  has  no  immediate  need  for  ships.  The 
destruction  of  the  bridges  of  all  the  railroads  entering  the  city 
makes  it  well  nigh  impossible  to  furnish  outgoing  cargoes.  These 
bridges  were  each  about  three  miles  in  length,  and  the  work  of 
recorstruction  will  be  a  stupendous  undertaking. 

THE    CITY    STILL    IN    DARKNESS. 

-*  One  of  the  most  serious  results  of  the  storm  has  been  the 
ripping  of  the  electric  light  and  street  car  plants.  The  city  has 
been  in  absolute  darkness  for  several  nights,  and  only  a  few 
concerns  who  operate  their  own  illuminating  service  are  enabled  to 
do  business.  Nearly  every  residence  has  gone  back  to  the  primitive 
candle.  The  absence  of  street  lights  drives  all  those  who  have  no 
imperative  business  on  the  streets  to  their  homes  at  nightfall,  but 
the  work  of  the  patrol  system  is  made  more  difficult  thereby  and 
the  opportunity  for  looting  greater. 

"  Among  the  Avorst  sufferers  by  the  disaster  were  the  churches. 
Nearly  every  one  of  them  felt  the  effect  of  the  storm.  Some  of 
them  are  entire  wrecks,  absolutely  beyond  repair. 

"  The  work  of  relief  continues  energetically.  Mayor  Jones 
and  his  associates  are  bending  every  nerve  to  open  a  direct  line  of 
transportation  with  Houston  by  which  he  may  be  enabled  promptly 
to  receive  the  great  quantity  of  provisions  which  are  now  on  the 
way  to  the  city." 

The  War  Department  received  the  following  telegram  from 
General  McKibben,  who  was  sent  to  Galveston  to  report  on  condi- 
tions there : 


THE   GULF   CITY   A    MASS   OF   RUINS.  '        93 

"  Arrived  at  Galveston  at  6  P.  M.,  having  been  ferried  across 
6<iy  in  a  yawl  boat.  It  is  impossible  to  adequately  describe  the 
condition  existing.  The  storm  began  about  9  A.  M.  on  Saturday, 
and  continued  with  constantly  increasing  violence  until  after 
midnight.  The  island  was  inundated  ;  the  height  of  the  tide  was 
from  eleven  to  thirteen  feet.  The  wind  was  a  cyclone.  With  few 
exceptions  every  building  in  the  city  is  injured.  Hundreds  are 
entirely  destroyed.  All  the  fortifications  except  the  rapid  fire 
battery  at  San  Jacinto  are  practically  destroyed.  At  San  Jacinto 
every  building  except  the  quarantine  station  has  been  swept  away. 

"  Battery  O,  First  Artillery,  lost  twenty-eight  men.  The 
officers  and  their  families  were  all  saved.  Three  members  of  the 
hospital  corps  lost.  All  bridges  are  gone,  water  works  destroyed 
and  all  telegraph  lines  are  down.  The  city  is  under  control  of 
Commmittee  of  Safety,  and  is  perfectly  quiet.  Every  article  of 
equipment  or  property  pertaining  to  Battery  O  was  lost.  Not  a 
record  of  any  kind  is  left.  The  men  saved  have  nothing  but  the 
clothing  on  their  persons.  Nearly  all  are  without  shoes  or  clothing 
other  than  their  shirts  and  trousers.  Clothing  necessary  has  been 
purchased,  and  temporary  arrangements  made  for  food  and  shelter. 
There  are  many  thousand  citizens  homeless  and  absolutely  destitute 
who  must  be  clothed,  sheltered  and  fed.  Have  ordered  20,000 
rations  and  tents  for  1000  from  Sam  Houston.  Have  wired  Com- 
missary-General to  ship  30,000  rations  by  express.  Lieutenant 
Perry  will  make  his  way  back  to  Houston  and  send  this  telegram. 

"McKiBBKN." 

ALARMING    RUMORS    FROM    GALVESTON. 

The  authorities  at  Galveston  on  the  13th  prohibited  the  entry 
Uito  the  city  of  any  one  but  men  willing  to  work.  Six  hundred 
women  and  children  fled  from  Galveston  and  came  to  Houston. 
The  smell  of  the  dead  attained  to  the  stifling  point.  Five  hundred 
more  bodies  recovered  from  the  debris  were  cremated  in  one  pile. 
Several  of  the  women  who  arrived  at  Houston  from  Galveston  were 
fever  op+r^rst*^,  '^hey  v;e^e  removed  to  ambulances  from  the  train  in 
ouicccners.     It  was  evident   that  the  city  was  on  the  verge  of  an 


94      ■  THE   GULF   CITY   A   MASS   OF   RljiNS. 

epidemic,  if,  indeed,  it  was  not  already  in  its  throes.  There  were 
serious  indications  that  the  authorities  were  suppressing  the  facts. 
The  eagerness  of  the  Board  of  Health  that  two  miles  of  wreck 
be  burned,  whether  it  threatened  to  consume  the  other  portion  of 
the  city  or  not,  and  the  frantic  haste  of  the  police  to  get  every 
woman  and  child  out  of  the  city,  coupled  with  an  order  issued  that 
no  one  be  admitted  to  the  island  except  for  work,  not  even  relatives 
i)f  victims  or  anxious  ones  searching  for  relatives,  and  the  seizure 
of  the  railroad  running  to  Texas  City  to  prevent  people  going  to 
Galveston,  all  contributed  to  stamp  the  situation  as  beyond  the 
control  of  the  handful  of  inexperienced  men  in  authority.  The 
consensus  of  opinion  of  prominent  Houston  people  who  returned 
from  the  city  was  that  the  Federal  Government  owed  it  to  the 
country  to  intervene  at  once.  Otherwise,  the  danger  of  contagion 
to  neighboring  cities  and  States  must  continue  to  multiply  each 
day. 

AUTHORITIES    AT    ODDS. 

Galveston,  Texas,  September  13. — (By  Western  Union  de- 
spatch boat  to  Houston.) — General  McKibben,  commanding  the 
Department  of  Texas,  his  aide,  and  Adjutant-General,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Roberts,  arrived  here  last  night.  General  Scurry,  Adju- 
tant-General of  Texas,  also  came  in  from  Austin.  Two  companies 
of  regulars  from  Fort  Sam  Houston  also  arrive,  i.  Galveston  is 
now  under  martial  law,  by  whose  orders  has  not  been  proclaimed, 
and  friction  has  already  arisen  between  the  civil  authorities  and 
the  military. 

The  sentinels  on  the  street  corners  do  not  recognize  the  passes 
issued  by  Mayor  Jones,  and  ignore  him  and  his  police  force.  If  a 
person  cannot  give  a  good  excuse  for  being  on  the  street  after  9  P. 
M.,  he  is  marched  off  to  jail.  Mayor  Jones  is  highly  indignant 
because  his  authority  is  usurped,  and  law-abiding  citizens  are  hot 
because  they  are  held  up  when  they  are  on  an  errand  of  relief  to 
some  stricken  friend  or  famil3^  This  is  a  matter  which  will  be 
brought  I0  the  attention  of  General  McKibben  and  Adjutant-Gen- 
eral Scurry,  and  Mayor  Jones  will  demand  that  his  authority  as 


THE   GULF   CITY  A  MASS  OF   RUINS.  95 

Cliief  Executive  of  the  city  be  respected  and  recognized  by  tbe 
military. 

Houston  is  tbe  haven  of  the  unfortunate  people  of  Galveston. 
Trains  have  already  brought  in  between  500  and  1,000  of  the  sur- 
vivors, and  a  motley  crowd  they  are.  Men  bareheaded,  barefooted, 
hatless  and  coatless,  with  swelled  feet  and  bruised  and  blackened 
bodies  and  heads  were  numerous.  Women  of  wealth  and  refine- 
ment, frequently  hatless,  shoeless,  with  gowns  in  shreds,  were 
among  the  refugees.  Sometimes  there  would  be  a  man,  wife  and 
child  or  two,  but  such  cases  were  rare,  nearly  all  of  those  who  came 
in  having  suffered  the  loss  of  one  or  more  of  their  family.  Never 
were  there  so  many  sad  hearts.  Men  bereft  of  their  wives  and 
children,  women  who  were  wddowed,  children  who  were  orphaned — 
it  was  enough  to  touch  the  heart  of  anyone.  Never  was  there 
more  heroism  shown. 

Although  a  week  ago  these  people  had  happy  homes,  they  are 
now  homeless  and  penniless,  but  they  bear  up  bravely.  There  is 
no  whimpering,  no  complaining.  They  were  all  made  to  feel  that 
Houston  is  now  their  home,  that  they  are  welcome,  and  that  every- 
thing possible  for  their  comfort  and  welfare  will  be  done.  They 
are  being  housed  and  fed,  and  those  in  need  of  medical  attention 
are  placed  in  the  hospitals,  where  they  receive  every  care.  Many 
of  the  refugees  to  reach  Houston  had  tasted  little  or  no  food  since 
the  storm. 

NO  LIMIT  TO  HOUSTON'S    HOSPITALITY. 

A  mass  meeting  of  the  General  Relief  Committee  was  held 
on  the  13th  to  discuss  the  best  method  of  handling  the  crowds  of 
people  who  were  expected  to  come  in  from  Galveston  wathin  the 
next  two  or  three  days.  It  was  decided  to  pitch  the  Government 
tents  in  Emancipation  Park  in  Houston,  as  there  is  no  suitable 
place  in  Galveston  where  they  can  be  put  up.  Mayor  Brashear 
sent  a  communication  to  Mayor  Jones,  of  Galveston,  urging  that 
all  persons  be  sent  to  Houston  from  that  place  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible, and  gave  assurance  that  they  would  be  amply  provided  for. 

By  "all  persons"  Mayor  Brashear  meant  that  not  only  those 


96  I'HE   GULF   CITY   A    MASS   OF   RUINS. 

who  are  iujured  or  destitute  should  come,  but  it  included  ever\''- 
bod}^  He  wished  it  distinctly  understood  that  Houston  was  pre- 
pared to  care  for  all  of  those  who  left  Galveston,  whether  they  were 
sick  or  well,  rich  or  poor.  It  was  his  belief  and  the  belief  of  those 
associated  with  him  on  the  General  Relief  Committee  that  Galves- 
ton must  be  depopulated  until  sanitation  can  be  completed,  and  all 
people  have  been  urged  to  come  from  that  city  to  Houston.  -, 

THRILLING    EXPERIENCE    OF    TV^O    HOUSTON    WOMEN. 

Mrs.  Bergman,  wife  of  Manager  Bergman,  of  the  Houston 
Opera  House,  gave  a  thrilling  account  of  her  escape  during  the 
Galveston  storm.  She  was  summering  in  a  cottage  on  Rosenberg 
avenue,  two  blocks  back  from  the  beach,  at  lo  o'clock  on  Saturday. 
The  water  was  up  about  three  feet,  and  she  donned  a  bathing  suit 
and  proceeded  to  the  Olympia  to  talk  over  the  long  distance  phone 
to  her  husband  at  Houston.  At  the  Olympia  she  was  waist  deep 
in  water.  At  2  o'clock  the  water  about  her  house  was  so  deep  she 
became  alarmed,  and  in  a  bathing  suit  she  and  her  sister  evacuated 
the  high  cottage  they  occupied. 

The  neighbors  living  in  the  next  house,  being  old  Galves- 
tonians,  laughed  at  them.  Out  of  that  family  of  fifteen  there  were 
saved  three,  and  they  only  because  they  were  down  town.  Mrs. 
Bergman  and  her  sister  started  for  the  Central  Telephone  office, 
the  water  being  from  waist  to  armpit  deep.  Both  are  expert 
swimmers,  and  they  buffeted  the  winds  and  waves  for  several 
blocks.  Finally  they  spied  a  negro  with  a  dray.  They  chartered 
him  for  two  dollars  to  take  them  to  the  Central  Telephone  Station. 
After  proceeding  two  blocks  the  mule  was  drowned,  and  all  were 
washed  off  the  dray,  the  negro  being  lost. 

Mrs.  Bergman  and  her  sister,  by  wading  and  swimming, 
reached  the  telephone  station,  and  found  refuge  until  the  firemen 
commenced  to  bring  dead  bodies  into  the  building.  Then  they 
concluded  to  go  to  Belton's  livery  stable,  where  Mr.  Bergman  kept 
his  horse.  This  was  the  hardest  part  of  the  trip,  although  the 
distance  was  only  600  yards.  It  was  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  and 
glass,  bricks,  slate  and  timbers  flew  in  showers. 


GALVESTON     COURT     HOUSE, 


TREMONT    STREET,    SHOWING    TREMONT     HOTEL    IN     THE    DISTANCE. 
TEN     FEET    OF    WATER    COVi^RED    THIS    STREET 


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THE    GULF    CITY   A    MASS    OF    RUhNS.  97 

At  Belton's  they  remained  until  next  morning.  At  6  o'clock 
Sunday  morning,  the  storm  having  abated,  they  started  back  to 
their  home.  The  only  vestige  of  it  or  of  the  houses  for  blocks 
around  was  a  hitching-post.  All  was  a  sandy  waste.  In  the  back 
yard  lay  a  dead  baby.  This  frightened  them,  but  before  going  far 
on  the  way  back  they  saw  scores  of  dead  bodies,  and  men,  women) 
and  children  maimtd  and  bleeding,  homeless  and  bereft  of  family. 

It  was  an  awful  night  and  day  they  put  in,  with  nothing  on 
but  bathing  suits,  and  nothing  to  eat.  Passing  a  store  they  saw' 
the  plate  glass  windows  all  broken.  The  background  was  lined' 
with  black  cloth.  This  they  seized,  and  securing  a  pair  of  scissors 
at  the  stable  and  needles  and  thread,  they  soon  had  two  well- 
fitting  and  well-made  gowns,  which  they  wore  until  they  reached 
Houston. 

TRANSPORT    TO    CARRY    PROVISIONS. 

Acting  Secretary  of  War  Mieklejohn  issued  orders  placing  the 
transport  McPherson  at  the  services  of  the  Citizens'  Committee  of 
the  Merchants'  Association  of  New  York  for  the  immediate  trans- 
portation of  provisions  donated  for  the  relief  of  the  storm  sufferers 
at  Galveston. 

The  people  who  had  been  raising  contributions  and  supplies 
in  New  York  asked  President  McKinley  for  a  transport,  and  the 
War  Department  acted  immediately  on  the  request.  It  was 
expected  that  the  McPherson  would  leave  within  seventy-two  hours 
and  sail  direct  for  Galveston.  It  was  suggested  by  the  War  De- 
partment that  the  relief  committees  of  Washington,  Baltimore  and 
Philadelphia  and  other  cities  in  reach  of  New  York  by  rail  within 
a  few  hours,  place  themselves  at  once  in  touch  with  the  Chairman 
of  the  Relief  Committee  of  New  York,  in  order  that  clothing,  sup- 
plies and  food  might  be  forwarded  promptly  to  the  carrying  capacity 
of  the  McPherson. 

Austin,  Tex.,  September  13. — Alvin  and  other  points  along 
the  coast  are  crying  piteously  for  aid.  They  say  that  they  have 
been  overlooked  in  the  general  relief  fund  and  that  with  all  their 
property  destroyed,  their  hopes  gone,  no  clothing,  no  provisions, 


98  THE    GULF    CITY   A   MASS    OF   RUINS. 

they  are  fit  subjects  for  the  hand  of  charity  along  with  the  unior- 
tunates  from  Galveston.  Governor  Sayers  promptly  wired  them 
that  they  should  be  looked  after. 

Touching  on  the  subject  of  needs  of  the  flood  sufferers  and 
the  funds  being  furnished  him  for  the  purpose,  Governor  Sayers 
stated  to-day  that  it  would  take  at  least  one  million  and  possibly  a 
million  and  one-half  to  render  the  assistance  that  would  be  bene- 
ficial to  the  flood  sufferers.  Many  of  them  will  have  to  be  sup- 
ported for  possibly  the  next  two  months,  and  it  will  require  an' 
immense  amount  of  money  to  do  this,  inasmuch  as  there  are  esti- 
mated to  be  10,000  destitute  at  Galveston  and  fully  twice  that 
many  along  the  main  shore. 

From  points  along  the  coast  comes  the  report  that  a  great 
amount  of  wreckage  is  being  thrown  up  by  the  Gulf  and  hundreds 
of  people  have  wandered  miles  down  the  coast,  seeking  among  the 
wreckage  for  valuables.  The  household  property  of  Galveston  peo- 
ple is  strewn  from  Rockport  in  Mantagorda  Bay  along  200  miles 
of  coast  front.  Every  conceivable  household  article  is  to  be  found 
strewn  along  the  sands.  Valuables  are  literally  lining  the  coast. 
Trunks,  valises,  bureaus,  chests  and  the  like  are  being  deposited 
on  the  shore. 

People  are  pouring  up  from  the  coast  by  the  train  load.  Many 
are  going  to  relatives  in  the  central  and  northern  part  of  the  State, 
and  others  are  stopping  in  Houston.  Of  course,  this  applies  to  the 
more  prosperous  class  of  the  Galvestonians,  if  there  can  be  an}> 
such  now. 

MONEY    AND    SUPPLIES   FOR    THE  SUFFERERS. 

The  subscriptions  in  New  York  up  to  Thursday,  the  13th,  for 
the  relief  of  the  Galveston  sufferers  were  : 

Merchants'  Association,  $52,099;  Mayors' Fund,  $7000;  New 
York  Mercantile  Exchange  Fund,  $2000;  New  York  Cotton 
Exchange  Fund,  $5300;  New  York  Stock  Exchange  Fund,  $11,- 
100;  New  York  Produce  Exchange  Fund,  $10,500;  Chamber  of 
Commerce  Fund,  $25,000;  miscellaneous  subscriptions,  $30,000. 
Total,  $142,994. 


THE   GULF   CITY   A   MASS   OF   RUINS.  9^ 

The  transport  McPherson  left  at  noon  Monday,  tlie  ytli,  for 
i^alveston,  carrying  supplies  which  were  contributed  through  the 
Merchants'  Association. 

The  Citizens'  Committee  of  the  association  deposited  in  bank 
$26,775,  making  a  gross  total  of  $40,526  so  deposited.  Secretary 
Corwine  immediately  afterward  wired  Governor  Sayers  authorizing 
him  to  draw  $12,000  in  addition  to  the  $12,000  offered  the  day 
before.  Mayor  Jones,  of  Galveston,  was  also  notified  of  the  tele- 
grams of  the  Governor. 

The  steamer  El  Sud,  of  the  Morgan  Line,  sailed  for  Galveston 
with  a  large  contribution  of  food  supplies  and  clothing  for  the 
Relief  Committee,  which  was  contributed,  through  the  Merchants' 
Association. 

A  despatch  from  Clark,  South  Dakota,  says  that  Governor 
Roosevelt  has  authorized  Colonel  William  J.  Young,  of  the  Execu- 
tive Department  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  to  issue  an  appeal  for  aid  on 
behalf  of  the  Galveston  sufferers.  J.  Pierpont  Morgan  was  named 
by  the  Governor  as  chairman  of  such  committee  and  authorized  to 
receive  subscriptions. 

CLARA  BARTON  GOES  TO  TEXAS. 

Miss  Clara  Barton,  President  of  the  National  Red  Cross,  and 
her  staff,  left  for  Galveston,  accompanied  by  Mary  Agnes  Coombs, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Executive  Committee  in  New  York  during  the 
Spanish  war. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  Salvation  Army  to  equip  a  hospital 
car  for  Galveston.  There  were  to  be  physicians  and  nurses  on 
board  and  a  large  supply  of  hospital  necessities.  This  car  will  be 
kept  at  Galveston  as  long  as  needed. 

A  meeting  of  Americans,  resident  and  transient,  in  Paris  was 
held  at  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  on  September  13th  for  the  pur- 
pose of  devising  a  method  for  raising  funds  to  assist  the  sufferers 
at  Galveston.  The  United  States  Ambassador,  General  Horace 
Porter,  was  elected  President ;  George  Monroe,  the  banker,  was 
made  Treasurer,  and  Francis  Kimball  was  appointed  Secretary. 
Resolutions   of   sympathy   with    the    people   of   Galveston    were 


100  THE   GULF   CITY   A    MASS   OF   RUINS. 

adopted,  and  a  subscription  list  was  opened,  witli  the  result  that 
inside  of  fifteen  minutes  50,000  francs  were  donated. 

A  committee  of  seven  was  appointed  to  carr}^  out  the  plans  of 
the  meeting,  which  included  canvassing  the  American  colony  in 
Paris.  The  French  papers  also  opened  subscription  lists,  many 
Frenchmen  having  expressed  a  desire  to  subscribe. 

R.  P.  W.  Houston,  member  of  Parliment  and  head  of  the 
Houston  Line  of  Steamers,  cabled  $5000  to  Galveston  for  the 
relief  of  the  sufferers. 

SYMPATHY   FROM    FRANCE. 

The  following  telegrams  passed  between  the  Presidents  01 
France  and  the  United  States : 

"  Rambouillet,  Presideuce,  September  12,  1900. — To  His  Ex- 
cellency the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America :  The  news 
of  the  disaster  which  has  just  devastated  the  State  of  Texas,  has 
deeply  moved  me.  The  sentiments  of  traditional  friendship  which 
unite  the  two  Republics  can  leave  no  doubt  in  your  mind  concern- 
ing the  very  sincere  share  that  the  President,  the  Government  of 
the  Republic  and  the  whole  nation  take  in  the  calamity  that  has 
proved  such  a  cruel  ordeal  for  so  many  families  in  the  United 
States.  It  is  natural  that  France  should  participate  in  the  sadness 
as  well  as  in  the  joy  of  the  American  people.  I  take  it  to  heart  to 
tender  to  your  Excellency  our  most  heartfelt  condolences,  and  to 
send  to  the  families  of  the  victims  the  expression  of  our  afflicted 
sympathy.  Emile  Loubet." 

"  Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  D.  C.  September  13,  1900. 
— His  Excellency,  Emile  Loubet,  President  of  the  French  Republic, 
Rambouillet,  France:  I  hasten  to  express,  in  the  name  of  the 
thousands  who  have  suffered  by  the  disaster  in  Texas,  as  well  as 
in  behalf  of  the  whole  American  people,  heartfelt  thanks  for  your 
touching  message  of  sympathy  and  condolence. 

''WiLLAM  McKiNLEY." 

In  response  to  an  inquiry  telegraphed  to  Colonel  A.  H.  Belo, 
publisher  of  the  Dallas  News  and  of  the  Galveston  News,  the  fol- 


THE    GULF    CITY   A    MASS   OV   RUINS.  101 

lowing  hopeful  estimate  of  the  business  future  and  prospects  of 
Galveston  was  received : 

"Although  in  the  middle  of  our  overwhelming  disaster,  the 
full  extent  of  which  can  only  be  approximately  estimated,  the  citi- 
zens of  Galveston  held  a  meeting  on  Sunday  afternoon,  as  soon  as 
they  possibly  could  after  the  great  storm.  At  this  meeting  the 
sentiment  expressed  was  a  grim  and  undaunted  resolution  to  re- 
build the  island  city.     They  said  : 

''  'Galveston  must  rise  again.' 

"  They  fully  realize  the  vastness  of  their  misfortune  and  the 
magnitude  of  their  task  to  repair  it,  yet,  amid  all  the  wreck  and 
havoc  that  the  elements  have  wrought  they  say,  with  determination, 
that  as  soon  as  they  bury  their  dead  and  provide  for  the  immedi- 
ate necessities  of  their  living  and  destitute  ones,  they  will  set 
about  to  clear  away  the  debris,  and  begin  anew  their  lives  of  toil 
and  energy  on  their  storm-stricken  island. 

"  They  are  inspired  with  the  sentiment  that  Galveston  must 
rally,  must  survive  and  must  fulfill  a  glorious  destiny,  as  the  great 
entry  port  of  the  Southwest.  As  in  the  case  of  the  great  Johns- 
town disaster,  in  1889,  the  whole  American  people  have  responded 
with  alacrity  to  their  cries  for  help,  and  with  such  aid  to  assist  and 
such  sympathy  to  inspire  them,  they  will  surely  meet  the  success 
that  their  patriotic  efforts  so  richly  merit.  A.  H.  Belo." 

STORY    OF  DEATH  AND  RUIN. 

Reviewing  the  situation  it  may  be  said  that  again  were 
heard  the  cries  of  those  in  the  wilderness  of  devastation  asking  for 
succor,  for  again,  as  a  score  of  times  before,  Galveston  and  sur- 
rounding coast  towns  are  the  scenes  of  death  and  desolation.  Homes 
razed  and  washed  away  by  the  waters  that  have  claimed  their  occu- 
pants as  victims  of  death  and  horror,  has  more  than  once  been  the 
story  from  the  shores  of  the  Gulf 

History  is  now  repeating  itself,  and  the  repetition  has  become 
frequent  since  i860.  While  severe  storms  sweep  the  Atlantic 
coast  between  the  mouth  of  the  Savannah  River  and  the  Chesa- 
peake, still  the  resultant  damage  is  far  less  north  of  Savannah  and 


102  THE    GULF    CITY   A    MASS   OF   RUINS. 

the  Cape  Fear  River.  This  is  because  the  land  is  higher,  serving 
as  a  barrier  to  the  encroachments  of  the  sea,  while  the  further 
south  one  goes,  it  will  be  found,  the  land  is  lower,  increasing  the 
liability  of  becoming  submerged  by  heavy  inshore  winds  and  tidal 
waves. 

Florida,  Louisiana  and  Texas  coast  cities  are  but  a  few  feet 
above  high  tide  register  and  therefore  the  more  subject  to  overflow. 
To  compute  the  total  loss  of  life  and  property  from  the  storms 
which  from  time  to  time  have  devastated  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  it  would  be  found  the  loss  of  human  life  would  extend  well 
into  the  thousands,  while  tens  of  millions  of  dollars  have  been  laid 
waste. 

STORMS  THAT  BROUGHT  DESOLATION. 

There  have  been  many  such  storms  before  whose  fury  has  been 
felt  by  the  coast  people.  One  of  the  worst  storms  was  in  Septem- 
ber, i860,  which  caused  ruin  and  death  from  Rio  Grande  to  Mobile, 
and  when  the  waters  had  subsided  the  loss  could  be  figured  at 
$3,000,000. 

Then  in  October  of  the  same  year,  one  month  later,  another 
storm  swept  down  upon  Galveston  and  Houston,  and  $5,000,000 
had  been  wiped  out.  There  were  other  storms  of  less  violence,  as, 
for  instance,  in  June,  1891,  when  a  southeast  wind  blew  a  hurri- 
cane for  four  days  and  the  city  was  inundated  and  shipping  was 
seriously  crippled. 

There  was  another  fearful  visitation  on  September  17,  1875. 
A  good  part  of  the  city  was  under  water  several  feet  deep.  Vessels 
were  wrecked  and  the  City  Hospital  was  filled  with  water  and  the 
Ocean  House,  on  Gulf  Beach,  crumbled  and  fell  and  floated  away 
in  remnants.  Thirty  lives  were  lost.  It  was  the  hardest  storm 
since  1867  up  to  that  time.     The  storm  raged  for  several  days. 

Indianola,  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  southwest  of  Gal- 
veston, was  almost  totally  destroyed.  More  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  its  inhabitants  were  found  dead  in  the  ruins  of  their  homes, 
Nearly  all  of  its  three  thousand  houses  were  unroofed  or  badly 
damaged,  and  $7,000,000  in  money  has  gone  to  waste, 


THE    GULF    CITY    A    MASS    OF   RUINS.  103 

A  hunicane  on  the  lower  Texas  coast  and  in  Mexico  on 
Augnst  20,  t88o,  carried  destruction  far  and  wide.  As  many  as 
three  hundred  houses  in  Alatamoras,  Mexico,  were  demolished, 
even  brick  buildings  offering  no  more  resistance  than  so  many 
toys.  Brownsville,  Texas,  saw  its  houses  unroofed  and  the  infantry 
barracks  were  demolished,  and  twenty-eight  army  horses  and 
several  mules  were  killed.  A  convent  did  not  escape  damage,  and 
several  of  the  occupants  were  injured  by  falling  debris. 

The  railroads,  quarantine  stations  and  the  lighthouses  were 
seriously  damaged.  Thirty  lives  were  lost  and  property  damaged 
was  estimated  at  $1,000,000.  T^i*^  hurricane  was  followed  by  one 
of  equal  violence  on  the  Mexican  coast,  which  completely  wiped 
out  the  town  of  Altata  and  the  port  of  that  name.  Not  one  house 
was  left  standing  and  ships  in  the  harbor  suffered  greatly. 

ATLANTIC    COAST    ALSO    SWEPT. 

Savannah,  Ga.,  has  not  escaped  the  fury  of  the  southern  gale. 
The  city  suffered  severely  in  1881,  the  waters  rushing  into  the 
streets  and  causing  the  death  of  four  hundred  persons  by  drowning. 
Four  million  dollars,  it  was  said,  was  the  amount  of  the  damage  to 
property.  In  1893  Savannah  was  visited  by  another  cyclone  and 
forty  persons  were  killed.  This  time  the  property  damage  was 
$7,000,000. 

Havana,  Cuba,  and  the  West  Indies  were  visited  by  a  destruc- 
tive hurricane  in  September,  1888.  One  thousand  persons  were 
killed  and  hundreds  of  head  of  cattle  were  killed.  The  loss  was 
$7,000,000. 

Sabine  Pass,  which  is  the  dividing  line  between  Texas  and 
Louisiana,  was   swept  by   a  terrific  storm  in  October,  1886.     The 
population  of  the  town   was  about  four  hundred.     Of  these  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  perished  and  90  per  cent,  of  the  deaths  was  ' 
caused  by  drowning.     Four  houses  escaped  injury. 

The  coast  of  Mexico  was  devastated  for  three  days  in  the  fall 
of  1889  by  a  destructive  cyclone,  which  first  struck  the  coast  of 
Campeachy.  There  was  a  drenching  rain  which  played  havoc 
along  the  peninsula  for  miles.     The  wind  was  so  furious  in  tlie 


104  THE   GULF   CITY  A   MASS   OF   RUINS. 

city  of  Carmen  it  uprooted  trees,  depositing  them  upon  Houses 
which  they  crushed.  All  the  shipping  in  the  harbor  was  wrecked. 
Tw^elve  foreign  barks  were  wrecked.  Some  were  thrown  high  and 
dry  on  the  beach,  while  others  were  submerged.  Two  steamships, 
many  schooners  and  many  smaller  craft  were  wrecked.  There 
was  great  loss  of  life. 

A  hurricane  from  the  West  Indies,  which  swept  up  the 
Atlantic  coast,  did  great  damage  to  Savannah,  Ga.,  on  Tuesday. 
September  30,  1896.  Wind  blew  at  a  velocity  of  seventy-five  miles 
an  hour  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  Hardly  a  building  escaped,  and 
thousands  of  houses  were  unroofed.  The  damage  was  $1,000,000, 
and  twenty-two  persons  were  killed.  The  roof  of  the  United  States, 
Pension  Of&ce  was  blown  off.  Railroad  stations,  churches,  theatres 
and  the  Bonaventure  Cemetery  were  ruined,  monuments  being 
overturned. 

The  hurricane  started  from  the  West  Indies.  It  went  from 
Brunswick,  Ga.,  to  Savannah  ;  thence  it  plunged  through  and  into 
Pennsylvania,  where  the  damage  done  was  tremendous.  The  large 
railroad  bridge  over  the  Susquehanna  River  was  wrecked. 

HARDEST  STORM  FOR  MANY  YEARS.] 

One  of  the  worst  cyclonic  storms  of  recent  years  was  that  on 
August  29,  1893,  which  carried  havoc  and  destruction  even  into 
our  own  city,  although  this  city  escaped  its  utmost  fury,  although 
there  came  tales  of  shipwrecks  at  sea.  It  was  a  West  Indian 
hurricane  that  originated  in  the  West  Indies  on  August  25,  and 
reached  our  shores  at  Savannah,  Ga.,  two  days  later.  The  storm 
passed  through  North  and  South  Carolina,  Virginia  and  West 
Virginia  and  into  the  southwestern  part  of  Pennsylvania. 

All  the  Atlantic  coast  States  suffered.  Port  Royal,  S.  C,  was 
frightfully  damaged.  The  streets  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  were 
literally  filled  with  debris,  parts  of  roofs,  signs,  awnings,  telegraph 
poles  and  building  material  being  jumbled  together  in  an  inextrica- 
ble mass  of  wreckage.  The  streets  were  flooded  with  water.  All 
the  phosphate  works  were  blown  down  or  badly  injured.  One  odd 
sight  in  the  old  city  was  a  schooner  lying  high  and  dry  in  a  street. 


THE    GULF    CITY    A   MASS    OF   RUINS.  105 

One  of  our  journals  commented  as  follows  on  the  storm  that 
wrought  unparalleled  damage : 

"  With  the  passage  of  the  great  hurricane  out  to  sea  over  the 

Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  the  most  destructive  chapter  in  the  history 

of  storm  movements  in  the  United  States  was  closed.     Just  what 

the  total  of  life,  property  and  crop  losses  will  be  is  even  now  not 

ascertainable  with   any  sure  degree  of   accuracy,  but  that  it  will 

1  surpass  all  earlier  estimates  cannot  be  questioned. 

TIMELY  ^A^ARNINGS  WERE  GIVEN. 

"  Moving  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  just  west  of  Florida,  on 
Thursday,  September  6,  in  its  week's  circuit  of  the  United  States, 
the  hurricane  has  at  least  caused  a  loss  of  5000  lives  and  prob- 
ably many  more,  and  has  destroyed  and  damaged  property  to 
the  extent  of  $15,000,000.  And  yet,  after  its  probable  direction 
and  the  curve  of  its  track  were  ascertained  on  Friday,  September 
7,  no  great  cyclonic  disturbance  has  been  more  carefully  watched 
or  the  menace  of  its  forward  movement  more  decisively  pointed 
out. 

"  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  though  the  Friday  warnings  of  the 
Weather  Bureau  caused  apprehensions  in  Galveston,  few  realized 
the  extreme  gravity  of  the  situation.  The  bureau,  however,  did 
its  full  duty,  and  its  subsequent  warnings  with  respect  to  the 
passage  of  the  cyclone  over  the  lakes  were  fully  justified.  The 
path  the  hurricane  took  between  September  6  and  September  12 
meteorologically  was  most  instructive  and  will  unquestionably 
p^ove  of  great  value  in  future  forecasts.  And  yet  it  followed  the 
normal  rule  and  kept  on  skirting  an  area  of  high  barometer  that 
lay  over  the  Southern  States,  the  lakes  and  the  Middle  States. 
From  the  moment  the  cyclone  was  first  "  held  up  "  by  the  high 
pressure  anti-cyclone  on  Thursday  it  kept  to  the  left  of  it,  and  so 
was  diverted  westward  with  such  disasterous  results  for  Galveston. 

"Though  it  may  seem  to  some  paradoxical  to  say  so,  the  clear, 
bracing  weather  of  yesterday,  accompanied,  as  it  was,  b3?-the  strong 
winds  from  the  south  and  southwest,  was  the  hurricane's  contribu- 
tion to  northern  weather.    To  most  people  who  find  great  dif&cult}' 


106  THE    GULF    CITY    A   MASS    OF   RUINS. 

in  undei'standiug  the  two-fold  movement  in  cyclonic  storms — cue 
translation  of  the  storm  as  a  whole  along  its  track  and  the  circula- 
tion of  the  winds  in  the  whirl  itself — the  idea  that  clear  weather  is 
part  of  a  storm  movement  will  seem  strange,  and  yet  such  is  the 
case. 

"  If  you  are  in  the  right  quadrant  and  far  enough  from  the 
■  vortex,  or  storm  center,  though  it  will  control  the  winds  in  your 
vicinage,  cloudless  and  rainless  weather  may  easily  be  your  lot 
And  this  was  our  experience,  for  the  cyclone  at  8  A.  M.  was  cen- 
tral over  Quebec,  whither  it  had  traversed  from  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 
over  i?oo  miles,  in  a  direct  line,  northeast  from  where  it  was  cen- 
tral or»  Tuesday  morning  the  nth,  at  8  o'clock. 

TERRIBLE  VELOCITY  OF  WIND. 

"  The  rate  at  which  it  made  this  jump,  taking  in  the  lakes  in 
passing,  was  at  the  speed  of  fifty  miles  an  hour,  while  the  cyclonic 
winds  kept  blowing  into  the  centre  at  a  velocity  of  seventy  miles 
an  hour.  That  these  two  motions  have  nothing  in  common  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  on  Saturda}^,  when  the  vertical  velocities 
were  at  their  height,  ninety-six  miles  from  the  northeast  and  loo 
from  the  southeast  at  Galveston,  the  cyclone  was  moving  on  its 
track  from  the  Gulf  to  the  interior  of  Texas  at  the  sluggish  pace 
of  ten  and  one-half  miles  an  hour.  It  was  this  slow  rate  which  had 
prevailed  ever  since  August  5  that  accentuated  all  the  evils  of  the 
rotary  circulation,  for  as  the  centre  passed  slowly  over  Galveston 
it  gave  the  cyclonic  winds  full  opportunity  to  pile  up  the  waters  and 
buffet  and  wreck  the  buildings. 

"  Fortunately  we  were  over  400  miles   from  the  vortex,  and, 
though  we  were  within    the   sphere  of  its   southern  winds,  they 
merely  proved  an  annoyance  through  the  excessive  dust  and  were 
;not  disastrous.     On  the  New  England  coast,  as  well  as  over  the^ 
lakes,  the  winds  were  stiffer,  and  we  are  yet  to  hear  the  full  story 
of  the  cyclone's  journey  from  gulf  to  gulf.     Meteorologically,  it  ist 
now  a  closed  record,  so  far  as  the  United  States  goes,  but,  unfor-' 
tunately  for  Galveston,  the  horror  of  the  visitation  grows  as  access 
to  the  stricken  town  reveals   the  full  extent  of  the  devastatiou. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Two  Survivors  Give  Harrowing  Details  of  the  Awful  Disas- 
ter— Hundreds  Eager  to  Get  Out  of  Galveston. 
Clearing  up  the  Wreckage. 

ALKXANDBR  and  Stanley  G.  Spencer,  the  two  sons  of  Stanley 
G.  Spencer,  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  killed  in  Galveston, 
reached  Philadelphia  Monday  afternoon,  the  17th.  Mrs.  Spencer 
was  to  come  north  later  when  their  affairs  in  the  stricken  city 
are  settled,  and  would  bring  the  body  of  Mr.  Spencer,  which  was 
embalmed  and  placed  in  a  metallic  cof&n  in  a  vault  in  Galveston. 

The  two  boys  left  Galveston  at  9  o'clock  Friday  morning. 
It  took  them  until  3.30  in  the  afternoon  to  reach  Houston,  which 
is  only  about  fifty  miles  distant  from  Galveston.  "  All  the  society 
ladies  of  Houston  met  the  train,"  said  Alexander,  the  older  of 
the  two  boys.      "  They  brought  clothes  and  food  for  the  people." 

The  boys  told  a  remarkable  story  of  their  experiences  during 
the  flood.  "Storm  warnings  were  sent  out  on  Friday,"  said 
Alexandei,  "but  nobody  paid  much  attention  to  t'nem  ;  only  a 
little  blow  was  expected.  This  did  not  come  until  Saturday  after- 
noon. It  first  started  with  a  chilly  wind.  Things  looked  rather 
dark  and  ha^^y  and  black,  rapidly  moving  clouds  sped  by.  Papa  had 
finished  woi  k  at  the  office  and  was  getting  ready  to  come  home, 
when  he  received  a  telegram  from  the  North  telling  him  to  meet 
Mr.  Lord,  with  whom  he  was  to  conduct  business  relative  to  the 
buying  of  property. 

Papa  telephoned  us  that  he  would  not  be  home  for  several 
hours  on  iiccount  of  this  business.  That  is  why  we  were  not 
worried  abottt  him.  He  and  Mr.  Lord  met  in  Ritter's  cafe,  and  it 
was  there  that  he  was  killed.  He  was  sitting  on  a  desk,  with  his 
hands  clasped  over  his  head,  a  favorite  position  of  his,  talking  to 
Mr.  Lord  and  a  Greek,  named  Marcleitis. 

"Ritter's  cafe  was  in  a  strongly-built  brick  building,  which 
vas  ("bought  to  be  very  safe,  but,  unfortunately,  it  was  at  the  foot 

107 


108  HARROWING    DETAILS   OF  THE   DISASTER. 

of  a  short  street  leading  to  the  wharf.  This  gave  the  wind  from 
the  Gulf  full  sweep  against  it.  There  were  several  other  men  in 
the  cafe,  and  one  of  them  said  :  'Why,  did  you  all  know  there  are 
just  thirteen  people  in  this  room  ?  '  Papa  laughed,  and  remarked 
that  he  was  not  superstitious.  Just  then  the  crash  came,  killing 
five  out  of  the  thirteen.  In  the  floor  above  the  cafe  was  a  large 
printing  establishment.  A  beam  hurled  down  by  the  weight  of 
the  presses  above  struck  papa,  killing  him  instantl}^  His  body 
was  dug  out  of  the  ruins  Sunday  afternoon  by  about  a  hundred 
friends,  and  his  was  the  first  funeral  in  Galveston." 

"  Were  you  frightened  much  ?  " 

"No,  we  were  not  very  scared,  because  we  had  no  idea  how 
terrible  the  storm  was.  We  were  not  worried  about  papa,  thinking 
he  was  safer,  even,  than  we  were.  We  secured  the  shutters  and  saw 
that  the  windows  were  braced.  After  that  we  sat  quietly  on  the 
first  floor.  The  water  never  did  get  above  the  basement,  as  the 
house  is  situated  on  an  eminence.  After  a  while  seven  people 
whom  we  did  not  know  came  in  and  asked  for  shelter,  as  their 
homes  were  flooded. 

THE    STORM    GROWS    WORSE. 

"  When  the  storm  kept  growing  steadily  worse  we  got  a  rope 
ready,  so  that  if  the  worst  came  we  could  all  be  tied  together. 
One  family  whom  I  knew  did  this.  They  tied  loop  knots  around 
their  wrists.  All  were  drowned  together  and  all  were  buried 
in  the  same  hole.  All  night  long  we  could  hear  cries  for  help. 
To  every  one  who  came  we  gave  shelter.  Once  some  one  knocked 
at  the  door  ;  when  Ave  opened  it  a  woman  fell  headlong  across  the 
doorstep.  She  had  fainted  from  exhaustion.  We  found  a  little 
girl  in  the  basement,  who  had  been  tied  to  a  skiff.  She  seemed 
dazed,  and  kept  talking  about  a  beautiful  carriage  she  had  seen. 

''We  did  not  know  what  she  meant,  but  next  morning  we 

saw  a  neighbor's  carriage  perched  high  on  top  of  a  pile  of  wreck- 

'age.     Even  when  we  looked  out  of  the  window  we  could  not  tell 

the  extent  of  the   damage.     The  moon  rose,  giving  a  very  clear 

light,  by  which  we  could  see  objects  floating  around.     It  did  not 


HARROWING    DETAILS   OF  THE    DISASTER.  109 

rain.     The  people  were  drowned  by  the  water  backing  np  from 
the  bay  and  the  Gnlf. 

"At  first  the  wind  was  to  the  northeast.  This  backed  the 
water  up  from  the  west  bay.  Suddenly  it  turned  to  the  southeast, 
causing  a  tidal  wave.  The  water  was  from  four  to  six  feet  deep. 
Two  of  the  observers  remained  in  observatory  all  night.  The 
wind  gauge  broke  when  the  wind  was  blowing  from  115  to  125 
miles  an  hour. 

HOUSES  IN  FRIGHTFUL  COLLISION. 

"A  house  was  washed  against  ours.  In  it  the  wreckers  found 
eight  bodies,  three  of  these  and  a  night  sergeant  of  police  were 
buried  in  one  yard.  Our  house  rocked  dreadfully.  It  and  the  two 
houses  on  either  side  of  it,  are  old  houses  built  over.  No  one 
thought  they  could  stand  the  fury  of  the  gale  ;  but  they  were  the 
only  three  left  standing  in  that  part  of  the  city.  Mr.  Frank 
Groome  and  Mr.  Hall  had  to  swim  home.  The  house  in  which 
Mr.  Hall  spent  the  night  was  split  in  two,  but  the  side  he  was  in 
was  left  standino-.  If  the  wind  had  continued  for  two  hours  longer, 
there  would  not  have  been  one  person  left  to  tell  the  tale.  When 
the  storm  first  started  my  brother  and  I  went  to  the  beach  to  watch 
the  water. 

"Even  then  the  water  was  backing  up  in  the  gutters  and  the 
little  whitecaps  were  dancing  on  the  waves.  The  steps  of  our 
house  were  washed  away,  but  Sunday  morning  we  found  the  body 
of  a  woman  lodged  in  the  brick  work.  Our  pet  donkey  was 
drowned,  but  we  saved  the  dogs  and  the  cats  as  they  were  in  the 
house.  There  were  five  big  dogs  and  three  little  puppies.  Paddy, 
a  big  dog,  would  sit  around  looking  at  us.  He  kept  whining  the 
whole  time  as  if  he  knew  something  unusual  was  going  on.  They 
say  black  cats  are  lucky.  Well,  we  had  three  of  them.  These 
would  rub  up  against  us  in  a  frightened  way. 

"  Sunday  morning,  Mr.  Groome  came  out  to  tell  us  about  papa. 
Mrs.  Brown,  a  friend  of  mamma's,  sent  for  us  to  come  to  her  house. 
Nearly  all  the  furniture  of  her  house  was  ruined  by  the  water. 
The  surrender  of  the  city  of  Galveston  to  the  Union  troops  was 


110  HARROWING    DETAILS   OF  THE   DISASTER. 

written  in  lier  house  and  the  table  on  wliicli  it  was  written  is  still 
there.  We  had  a  hard  time  getting  to  Mrs.  Brown's.  We  walked 
part  of  the  way.  A  colored  man  with  a  bony  horse  hitched  to  a 
rickety  little  delivery  wagon — 'dago  carts,'  we  call  them — hauled 
us  the  rest  of  the  way  for  a  dollar  a  piece.  All  through  the  streets 
fve  met  hysterical  women  and  dazed-looking  men. 

*'  The  wife  of  Dr.  Longino,  an  army  surgeon,  was  at  a  friend's 
house,  with  her  little  baby,  when  the  storm  commenced.  During 
the  storm,  from  fright  or  something  else,  the  baby  lost  its  breath. 
Everybody  thought  the  child  was  dead  and  tried  to  persuade  Mrs. 
Ivongino  to  leave  it  and  try  to  save  herself  but  she  would  not  do 
so.  She  caught  hold  of  the  baby's  tongue  and  held  it  so  it  cor  Id 
not  retard  the  passage  of  air  in  the  windpipe. 

TRYING  TO  SAVE  THE  CHILD'S  LIFE. 

"She  blew  her  own  breath  into  the  baby's  body.  After  work- 
ing for  a  long  time,  during  the  most  terrible  part  of  the  storm,  the 
baby  was  revived  and  is  still  living.  She  kept  her  invalid  aunt 
alive  by  pinching  her  cheeks.  The  next  day  she  reached  a  place 
of  safety  in  the  city.  She  said  she  could  hardly  walk  along  the 
beach  for  the  bodies  of  children.  There  was  a  Catholic  orphanage 
about  five  miles  down  the  beach,  in  which  were  a  hundred  children 
and  ten  nuns.     All  of  these  but  three  boys  were  killed. 

"  One  woman  who  was  trying  to  save  a  child  was  pinned 
down  by  a  piano.  She  was  just  about  to  give  herself  up  for  lost 
when  a  big  wave  came  and  v/ashed  the  piano  off  of  her.  She  and 
the  child  were  both  rescued.  We  kept  a  little  pet  lamb  alive, 
which  afterwards  we  thought  we  would  have  to  kill  for  food.  But 
Mrs.  Brown  got  a  calf  somewhere.  It  was  killed  and  cleaned,  but 
the  ladies  themselves  had  to  cut  it  up.  This  served  for  food  for 
two  days.  The  two  big  cisterns  in  the  cellar  were  full  of  salt 
water;  there  was  a  small  one  on  the  roof  which  furnished  us  with 
water  lor  a  little  while.  After  that  we  had  to  beg  it  from  the 
neighbors. 

"  The  only  clothes  we  have  are  what  we  have  on 
and  one    change  of  underclothes,  which  we  took  with  us  when 


HARROWING    DETAILS   OF  THE    DISASTER.  Ill 

we   weut  to    Mrs.   Brown's.     All    tlie    rest   of    our    clothes    are 
mildewed. 

"  We  did  not  see  any  of  the  negroes  stealing,  as  mother  kept 
us  in  the  house  all  the  time,  but  we  could  hear  the  shots.  They 
commenced  this  dastardly  work  Sunday  night. .  The  ghouls  arc 
composed  of  negroes  and  foreigners.  We  did  not  get  very  fright- 
ened when  people  kept  coming  to  us  for  help  the  night  of  the 
storm.  All  we  could  do  was  to  thank  God  that  He  had  given 
us  a  place  of  shelter  which  we  could  share  with  those  less 
fortunate." 

THREATENED    WITH    PESTILENCE. 

A  visitor  to  the  stricken  city  made  the  following  report: 

"Galveston's  stress  and  desolation  grows  with  each  recurring 
hour.  Pestilence,  famine,  fire,  thirst  and  rapine  menace  tlie 
stricken  city.  Each  refugee  from  the  storm-lashed  island  brings 
tidings  which  add  to  the  tale  of  the  city's  woe. 

"  Of  the  dead  that  lie  in  piles  in  the  desolated  streets  and  dot 
the  waters  that  girdle  the  city,  the  true  number  will  never  be 
known.  All  estimates  of  the  total  of  the  victims  of  Saturda^^'s 
night's  tempest  must  be  qualified  with  the  mark  of  interrogation. 
It  is  not  conjecture  to  say  that  the  death  roll  in  Galveston  alone 
will  hardly  fall  short  of  5000.  Sober-sensed  men,  who  have 
brought  to  the  outer  world  conservative  accounts  of  sights  and 
scenes  in  the  hapless  city,  say  that  there  are  10,000  dead  people 
within  a  half  dozen  miles  of  Galveston's  centre.  No  one  disputes 
that  the  storm  victims  number  the  half  of  10,000. 

"Men  who  have  lived  through  the  yellow  fever  scourge  in 
New  Orleans  and  other  Southern  cities,  where  the  dead  in  the 
streets  were  more  numerous  than  the  living,  hold  those  horrors 
lightly  in  comparison  with  the  conditions  that  exist  in  Galveston. 

"  In  devious  ways  news  of  the  situation  that  confronts  the 
living  in  Galveston  comes  to  this  city.  There  is  no  telegraphic 
communication  with  the  island.  There  is  no  train  service. 
Boats  are  plying  at  irregular  intervals  across  the  bay.  No  one 
in  the  city  has  time  to  send  forth  to  the  world  more  than   meagre 


112  HARROWING    DETAILS    OF  THE    DISASTER. 

accouuts  of  the  situation  iu  the  city.  The  bulk  of  the  news  is 
gleaned  from  refugees  who  are  fleeing  to  Houston.  A  few  rail- 
road men  have  penetrated  into  the  desolated  city  and  returned 
with  fragmentary  accounts  of  the  perils  that  menace  the  living, 
and  the  gruesome  work  that  is  being  carried  on  day  and  night 
to  ward  off  the  contagion  that  is  threatened  by  the  huudreds  of 
corpses  that  lie  corrupting  under  the  hot  sun. 

"  It  will  be  days  before  a  fairl}^  accurate  estimate  of  the  loss  ol 
life  can  be  made.  Arrivals  from  Galveston  to-night  tell  that 
citizens  are  laboring  unceasingly  at  disposing  of  the  dead  in  order 
that  the  living  may  not  suffer. 

"To  graves  beneath  the  blue  waters  of  the  Gulf  the  dead  are 
being  consigned  as  fast  as  they  can  be  loaded  upon  barges  and 
towed  to  sea.  There  is  no  other  way.  The  city  must  be  rid  of 
them.  No  more  than  a  tithe  of  the  bodies  can  be  interred.  So 
soaked  is  the  ground  that  trenches  fill  with  water  as  fast  as  the 
shovel  can  lift  the  earth. 

FIERCE  HEAT  ADDS  TO  THE  HORROR. 

"  There  is  need  of  laborers  in  the  city.  The  remnants  of  the 
fire  department  and  police  force,  both  of  which  organizations  con- 
tributed many  victims  to  the  storm,  are  doing  heroic  work.  Their 
efforts  are  supplemented  by  the  citizens.  Hordes  of  negroes,  kin, 
many  of  them,  to  the  unspeakable  creatures  who  preyed  upon  the 
dead  in  their  hunger  for  loot,  have  been  commandeered  and  forced 
to  lend  their  strength  in  delving  in  the  ruins  for  corpses.  Stern- 
faced  men  with  shot  guns  and  rifles  stand  over  them  and  keep 
them  to  their  toil.     It  is  heartbreaking  work  but  it  is  necessary. 

"  Since  the  storm  blew  itself  away  the  weather  has  been  semi- 
tropical.  For  four  days  the  sun  has  sent  down  its  fiercest  darts. 
The  result  may  be  imagined.  Over  the  city  hangs  the  nauseat- 
ing stench  of  decomposing  flesh.  Besides  the  humans  there  are 
thousands  of  carcasses  of  domestic  animals  scattered  through  the 
devastated  portions  of  the  city.  Galveston  is  in  need  of  everything 
that  charity  and  compassion  can  suggest.  But  above  all  the  dut^'' 
requires  disinfectants. 


HARROWING    DETAILS   OF  THE    DISASTER.  11 :' i 

"Heroic  measures  were  adopted  by  the  citizens  in  charge  of  the 
work  of  policing  and  rehabilitating  the  city.  It  was  determined 
to  fire  the  ruins  and  purify  the  city  by  flame.  This  must  be  done. 
Hundreds  of  bodies  will  be  cremated  in  the  pyres.  Fire  is  the 
best  disinfectant  that  the  city  has  at  its  command.  People  from 
the  vicinity  of  Galveston  report  to-night  that  heavy  clouds  of  smoke  • 
have  shrouded  the  city  all  the  afternoon.  It  is  evident  that  the 
ordeal  by  fire  has  begun.  This  adds  a  fresh  menace  to  the  city's 
safety.  The  fire  department  is  unable  to  cope  with  the  flames 
should  they  spread  to  the  undamaged  sections  of  the  city. 

"  It  was  the  weakest  members  of  the  community  that  suffered 
the  greatest  in  the  dark  hours  of  Saturday  night,  when  the  seas 
leaped  upon  the  city.  Two-thirds  of  the  corpses  that  are  seen 
are  those  of  women  and  children.  The  number  of  the  neo-ro 
dead  exceed  the  white  victims. 

"A  water  famine  has  added  its  quota  to  the  perils  of  the  situa- 
tioti.  The  water  works  are  still  disabled.  There  are  few  wells 
in  the  city,  and  the  bulk  of  the  available  water  supply  consists  of 
the  stores  in  the  reservoirs.  This  is  not  sufiicient  to  last  more 
than  a  day  or  two.  Strenuous  efforts  are  being  put  forth  to 
repair  the  pumps  and  start  the  water  works." 

ROBBERS    DRIVEN    FROM   THEIR    WORK. 

Since  Adjutant-General  Scurry  has  assumed  police  direction 
of  Affairs,  looting  and  plundering  have  ceased.  No  one  has  been 
shot,  and  order  prevails  throughout  the  city.  The  lawless  know 
that  they  will  be  shot  down  on  the  spot  when  caught  depredatino- 
and  this  has  had  a  very  wholesome  effect.  The  large  force  of 
men  employed  in  burying  and  cremating  the  exposed  dead  scat- 
tered throughout  the  city  have  completed  that  portion  of  their 
work  and  are  now  engaged  in  searching  for  the  bodies  of  unfor-»' 
tunates  lying  crushed  and  bruised  beneath  the  immense  mass  of 
debris  and  wrecked  buildings  scattered  throughout  the  city. 
Where  the  debris  lies  in  detached  masses  it  is  fired  and  the  bodies 
thevein  are  consumed. 

When  adjacent  property  is  -ndangered  by  fire  the  mass  of 

8 


114  HARROWING    DETAILS   OF  THE    DISASTER. 

debris  is  removed,  the  bodies  taken  out,  removed  to  a  safe  distance 
and  around  them  is  piled  the  removed  debris,  the  whole  saturated 
with  oil  and  fired.  Identification  is  impossible.  The  bodies 
being  in  all  stages  of  putrefaction  and  giving  a  horrible  stench, 
it  is  a  most  sad  and  gruesome  task.  Perhaps  some  of  the  men 
engaged  in  this  work  are  unknowingly  aiding  in  destroying  all 
that  is  mortal  of  some  loved  one. 

In  gathering  remains  for  interment  a  nephew  of  Alderman 
John  Wagner,  a  youth  i8  years  old,  was  found  lodged  in  the  ' 
forks  of  a  tall  cedar  tree,  two  miles  from  his  wrecked  home,  and 
tightly  clenched  with  a  death  grip  in  his  right  hand  $200,  which 
his  father  gave  him,  with  two  $20  gold  pieces,  to  hold  while  the 
father  attempted  to  close  a  blown  open  door,  when  the  house  went 
down  and  the  whole  family  perished  in  the  raging  storm  and 
flood  . 

THE  LOSSES  OUTSIDE  OF  GALVESTON. 

While  the  loss  of  life  in  this  city  will  not  fall  below  5000 
and  may  be  many  more,  every  little  town  within  a  radius  of 
seventy-five  miles  of  Galveston  was  wrecked  and  people  killed 
and  wounded,  while  the  damage  to  property  will  aggregate  over 
$2,000,000.  The  damage  to  property  in  and  around  Alvin,  a 
thriving,  town  of  2000  people,  where  eleven  people  were  killed 
and  quite  a  number  wounded,  is  estimated  at  $300,000,  and 
they  send  out  an  urgent  appeal  for  aid  and  relief  supplies.  . 

Fifty-four  houses  were  wrecked  in  Quiutana  and  the  debris 
piled  up  in  the  streets.  Fortunately,  no  lives  were  lost.  The  town 
of  Velasco,  three  miles  above,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  was 
completely  wrecked  and  nine  killed,  three  being  killed  in  the  hotel, 
which  was  badly  demolished.  Angleton,  the  county  seat  of  Bra- 
zoria, ten  miles  north  of  Velasco,  was  completely  destroyed  and 
several  lives  lost  and  a  number  badly  injured.  The  property  loss 
in  these  three  towns  and  country  adjacent  thereto  will  be  be3^ond 
the  ability  of  the  people  to  repair. 

Supplies  for  the  relief  of  Galveston's  sufferers  are  coming  in 
from  every  quarter  as  rapidly  as  the  limited  means  of  transporta- 


HARROWING    DETAILS    OF  THE    DISASTER.  115 

tion  here  will  admit.  Its  distribution  here  has  not  yet  gotten  on 
a  systematic  basis,  and  needs  to  be  radically  revised,  or  it  will  fail 
of  its  purpose  and  defeat  the  object  of  those  who  are  so  gener- 
ously contributing.     Medical  relief  is  much  better  organized. 

There  is  not  a  house  of  any  character  in  the  city  but  what  is 
foul  and  ill-smelling.  The  water  failed  to  materialize  to-day  as 
promised,  and  this  aggravates  the  situation.  With  a  completely 
crippled  fire  department,  fire  apparatus  all  gone,  nine  horses 
drowned,  five  engines  useless  and  no  water  supply,  should  a  fire 
Break  out,  fanned  by  a  stiff  breeze,  what's  remaining  of  the  city 
would  be  speedily  wiped  out. 

MILITARY   RULE   NEEDED. 

Major  Lloyd  P.  Fayling,  who  was  so  prominent  in  the  or- 
ganization  of  the  first  relief  effort,  was  asked  what  solution  of  the 
present  disorganization  of  the  policing  powers  he  would  suggest. 
The  Major  dictated  the  following  : 

"The  situation  demands  Federal  aid.  It  demanded  it  from 
the  very  first.  An  experienced  United  States  army  officer  of  high 
rank  should  be  put  in  command  here,  preferably  one  who  has 
seen  years  of  active  service.  A  regiment  of  regular  soldiers 
would  absolutely  control  the  situation  where  auy  number  of  militia 
might  meet  with  difficulties.  The  disaster  is  so  great  and  so 
terrible  no  municipal  authority  in  the  country  could  be  expected 
to  handle  it  unaided." 

The  first  real  attempt  to  clear  away  the  great  mass  of  debris 
piled  along  the  beach  front  for  a  distance  of  several  miles  was 
begun  on  the  14th.  Advertisements  were  printed  in  the  papers, 
which  appeared  this  morning,  asking  for  hundreds  of  men  and 
ooys  to  do  this  work.  A  multitude  responded.  They  were 
formed  into  squads  and  promptly  put  to  work,  with  police  and 
deputy  sheriffs  in  charge.  It  is  hoped  that  a  vigorous  prosecution 
of  this  work  will  lead  to  the  early  recovery  of  bodies  still  in  the 
debris.  That  there  are  many  of  them  there  is  no  shadow  of  a 
doubt.  It  is  difficult,  indeed,  to  imagine  how  half  the  people  who 
did  escape  got  free  from  this  fearful  flotsam  and  jetsam. 


116  HARROWING    DETAILS   OF  THE    DISASTER. 

An  Associated  Press  representative  traversed  the  beacli  for 
some  distance,  and  the  stench  at  different  points  was  absolutely 
sickening.  Everywhere  little  groups  of  men,  women  and  children, 
some  of  them  poorly  provided  with  raiment,  were  digging  in  the 
ruins  of  their  homes  for  what  little  household  property  they 
could  save.  In  many  cases  those  seeking  their  former  residences 
were  utterly  unable  to  find  a  single  remnant  of  them,  so  hopeless 
is  the  confusion  of  timber  and  household  furniture. 

EXODUS    FROM   THE    CITY. 

The  exodus  from  the  city  was  heavy,  and  hundreds  more 
were  eager  to  go  who  were  unable  to  secure  transportation.  Along 
the  bay  front  there  were  scores  of  families  with  dejected  faces, 
pleading  to  be  taken  from  the  stricken  city,  where,  in  spite  of 
every  effort  to  restore  confidence,  there  is  a  universal  feeling  of 
depression. 

Shipping  men  say  that  the  damage  to  the  wharves  is  by  no 
means  as  serious  as  at  first  supposed.  The  chief  damage  has 
been  in  the  tearing  open  of  sheds  and  ripping  of  planking.  The 
sheds,  however,  can  be  quickly  replaced.  The  piling  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  along  the  bay  front  successfully  withstood  the 
pounding  it  got  from  the  wind  and  waves,  and  business  men  find 
a  measure  of  consolation  in  this. 

More  hopeful  reports  were  received  touching  the  water  sup- 
ply. C.  H.  McMasters,  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  has  charge 
of  the  water  relief  work.  The  company  is  placing  men  all  along 
the  mains,  plugging  the  broken  places,  and  thereby  assisting  the 
flow.  It  was  serving  some  of  its  customers  to-day,  and  hopes 
gradually  to  increase  the  service.  The  water  continiies  to  run  b}^ 
gravity  pressure.  The  only  difficulty  the  people  are  having  is  in 
carrying  supplies  to  their  homes  or  places  of  business.  The  ice 
supply  continues  bountiful,  and  at  many  corners  lemonade  is  being 
served  at  five  cents  for  as  many  glasses  as  you  can  drink  at  one 

time. 

More  effective  measures  were  taken  to  keep  undesirable  peo- 
ple, off  the  island.     Soldiers  patrolled  the  water  front,  and  chal- 


HARROWING    DETAILS   OF  THE  DISASTER.  117 

len£ed  all  who  could  not  show  a  proper  reason  for  their  landing, 
or  who  were  unwilling  to  work  for  the  privilege  of  coming  into 
town. 

Assurances  have  been  received  by  the  railroads  that  they  will 
do  all  in  their  power  to  reopen  communication,  and  their  present 
"i^lan  seems  to  be  to  concentrate  all  forces  on  the  work  of  the  recon- 
(Struction  of  one  bridge.  Crews  are  coming  down  the  Santa  Fe 
Railroad  from  Arkansas  and  St.  Louis  with  full  equipments  to 
restore  the  line.  Local  representatives  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
have  had  advices  from  headquarters  to  proceed  with  repair  work 
without  delay. 

Telegraph  communication  has  been  partially  restored,  the 
Western  Union  and  Postal  Companies  having  reached  the  city 
with  one  wire.  Large  forces  have  been  at  work  along  the  lines  of 
both  companies,  and  connection  with  Galveston  has  been  attended 
with  many  difficulties. 

BUSINESS    BEING    RESUMED. 

A  larger  number  of  business  houses  than  on  yesterday 
are  open,  and  advertising  their  wares  at  no  advance  in  the 
prices.  Carts  with  disinfectants  are  going  through  the  streets* 
The  gutters  are  being  covered  with  lime.  Carpenters  are  having 
all  the  work  they  can  do.  The  storm  tore  hundreds  of  roofs  off, 
and  the  people  who  are  living  in  topless  houses  are  eager  to 
obtain  coverings  so  as  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  what  they 
have  raved  if  a  rain  storm  comes  along.  Thus  far,  however,  the 
weather  has  been  clear. 

The  relief  committees  are  steadily  broadening  the  scope  of 
their  work.  They  have  established  bureaus  for  the  issuance  of 
orders  and  rations  in  every  ward,  and  though  there  is  a  multitude 
surrounding  every  bureau,  applicants  are  rapidly  being  taken 
care  of  There  seems  no  present  likelihood  of  inability  on  the 
part  of  the  committee  to  furnish  all  the  rations  that  are  asked  for. 
There  is  of  course,  a  scarcity  of  fresh  beef  and  of  milK  but 
bread  is  being  provided  in  abundance,  as  well  as  hams,  pot?.toes, 
rice  and  other  articles. 


118  HARROWING   DETAILS   OF  THE  DISASTER. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  escapes  recorded  during  the 
flood  was  reported  to-da}^,  when  news  came  that  a  United  States 
Battery  man,  on  duty  at  the  forts  last  week,  had  been  picked  up 
on  Morgan's  Point  wounded,  but  alive.  He  had  buffeted  the 
waves  for  five  days  and  lived  through  a  terrible  experience. 

SURGEON    GENERAL    WYMAN    MAKES    A    STATEMENT. 

The  following  statement  from  Surgeon-General  Wyman  is 
dated  Washington,  D.  C,  Friday,  Sept.  14  : 

"In  response  to  the  request  concerning  the  situation  in  Gal- 
veston, I  have  a  report  from  Passed  Assistant  Surgeon  Werten- 
baker,  who  was  directed  to  go  from  his  station  in  New  Orleans  to 
Galveston,  practically  confirming  the  press  reports  as  to  the  effect 
of  the  storm  and  conditions  existing.     He  says : 

'' '  City  is  wrecked.  Press  reports  not  exaggerated.  Deaths 
estimated  at  5,000.  Bodies  being  cremated  as  fast  as  found. 
Many  bodies  under  debris  not  yet  removed.  Water  supply  lim- 
ited. Very  scarce  now,,  but  supplies  coming  in  rapidly.  The 
only  means  of  communication  is  by  railroad  to  Texas  City,  thence 
by  boat,  or  by  boat  from  Houston.' 

"  Dr.  Wertenbaker  is  at  Houston,  and  Surgeon  Peckham  and 
Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  Lea  Hume  are  giving  all  the  aid  possi- 
ble in  Galveston.  I  do  not  apprehend  an  outbreak  of  any  epidemic 
of  disease  as  a  result  of  the  storm.  The  law  and  regulations  are 
ample  to  meet  the  emergency. 

'•  There  is  danger  of  sickness  caused  by  unusual  exposure 
and  deprivation  of  food  and  water,  but  the  people  of  Galveston 
and  Governor  and  other  officials  of  the  city  and  State  are  thor- 
oughly alive  to  the  necessities  of  the  situation.  Their  disposal 
of  bodies  by  cremation  is  certainly  a  wise  measure,  and  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  native  energy  of  the  people,  supplemented  by  the 
tents  and  rations  furnished  by  the  War  Department  and  the  cour 
tributions  which  have  been  and  are  flowing  in  from  all  parts  ot 
the  country,  will  obviate  the  outbreak  of  widespread  disease. 

"WALTER  WYMAN, 
"Supervising  Surgeon-General  Marine  Hospital  Service.'^ 


HARROWING   DETAILS   OF   THE   DISASTER.  119 

As  already  stated,  the  first  estimates  of  the  number  lost 
were  much  too  low,  and  all  the  facts  show  that  probably  8000  is 
not  too  high  an  estimate. 

Austin,  Tex.,  Sept.  14. — The  fund  for  the  relief  of  the  Gal- 
veston sufferers  now  aggregates  nearly  $1,000,000  and  it  will 
probably  reach  $1,500,000  by  to-morrow  night.  Most  of  this 
amount  is  in  the  hands  of  Governor  Sayres,  who  will  direct  the 
work  of  expending  it  for  food,  supplies  and  other  relief  measures. 
The  Governor  will  not  give  out  for  publication  an  itemized  list  of 
the  contributions  for  several  days. 

Numerous  inquiries  from  the  Bast  have  been  received  as  to 
the  best  way  to  send  subscriptions  to  the  Governor  for  the  Gal- 
veston Relief  Fund.  The  Austin  National  Bank,  of  this  city, 
which  is  the  United  States  depository  for  Texas,  has  notified  the 
Governor  that  it  will  make  transfers  of  all  contributions  for  Gal- 
veston free  of  charge  by  wire  or  draft.  Remittances  may  be  sent 
direct  for  transfer  to  Governor  Sayres. 

The  House  of  Representatives  has  sanctioned  a  motion  to 
send  a  cablegram  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  expressing 
the  condolence  of  the  Government  and  people  of  Peru  over  the 
catastrophe  at  Galveston. 

APPEAL  TO  DRUGGISTS  IN  HOUSTON. 

To  all  druggists :  The  storm  stricken  district  is  very  much 
in  need  of  the  following  drugs:  Iodoform,  chloride  of  lime,  gum 
camphor,  assafetida,  crude  carbolic  acid,  phenol  sodique,  gauze 
bandages,  quinine  and  iodoform  gauze.  Contributions  should  be 
sent  to  1  he  Houston  Relief  Committee. 

A.  E.  KESLING, 
Houston  Relief  Committee. 

"Cnicago's  first  offering  of  food  and  clothing  for  the  Texas 
sufferers  left  here  last  night  (Thursda}^,  the  13th),  over  the  Rock 
Island  Road  on  a  special  train  of  six  cars  that  has  the  right  of 
way  over  all  trains  as  far  as  Fort  Worth,  Texas.  Other  cars 
packed  at  Rock  Island,  Davenport,  Muscatine,  Topeka,  Kansas 
Cit}^,  St.  Joseph  and  Wichita  will  be  picked  up  on   the  wa3^,  and 


120  HARROWING    DETAILS   OF  THE    DISASTER. 

it  is  expected  the  train  will  consist  of  twenty-three  cars  when  it 
reaches  its  destination.  The  train  is  expected  to  reach  Fort 
Worth  on  Satnrda}^,  from  where  it  will  be  taken  to  Houston,  over 
the  Houston  and  Texas  route  on  a  special  train  schedule." 

The  banking  house  of  Munroe  &  Compan}^  New  York, 
received  from  its  Paris  branch  advices  to  draw  on  that  bank  for 
$10,000  for  the  aid  of  the  Galveston  sufferers. 

Vice-President  and  General  Manager  Trice,  of  the  Inter- 
national and  Great  Northern  Railroad,  spent  several  hours  at 
Bryan  on  the  13th.  Mr.  Trice  has  just  come  from  Galveston, 
where  he  had  been  in  touch  with  the  situation  since  the  great 
storm.  He  said  the  railroad  losses  will  aggregate  $5,000,000  c>r 
$6,000,000. 

"  We  are  now  operating  trains  to  Texas  City,  and  carrying 
on  traf&c  from  that  point  to  Galveston  by  boat,"  he  said.  "Better 
shipping  facilities  will  be  established  at  Galveston  than  ever  as 
fast  as  men  and  money  can  place  them  there.  Negotiations  are 
now  going  on  to  the  end  that  all  railroads  entering  the  city  join 
forces  and  materials  and  establish  a  temporary  bridge  across  the 
bay,  and  if  the  plan  succeeds  it  is  hoped  that  trains  can  be  run 
into  Galveston  in  thirty  days.  The  negotiations  going  on  also 
contemplate  the  construction  of  a  permanent  double  track  steel 
bridge,  to  be  used  by  all  the  railroads  entering  the  city." 

PLANS    FOR    A    NEW    BRIDGE. 

W.  Boscheke,  assistant  engineer  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road at  Galveston,  has  received  orders  by  wire  from  New  York  to 
prepare  plans  at  once  for  a  double-track  steel  bridge  across  Gal- 
veston Bay,  ten  feet  higher  than  the  old  one,  and  to  proceed  with 
all  the  force  possible.  Engineers  are  at  work  making  a  survey 
and  running  lines  preparatory  to  the  resumption  of  work. 

J.  W.  Maywell,  General  Superindent,  and  J.  W.  Allen,  Gen- 
eral Freight  agentof  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas,  have  arrived 
here  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  with  General  Manager  Polk,  of 
the  Gulf,  Colorado  and  Santa  Fe,  and  Manager  Hill,  of  the  Gal- 
veston, Houston  and  Henderson  Railway,  with  the  object  of  com- 


HARROWING    DETAILS   OF   THE   DISASTER.     ■  121 

^i„.iig  their  efforts  on  the  reconstruction  of  one  bridge  for  all  rail^ 
wa^^s  entering  Galveston  for  the  time  being,  and  thus  secure  an 
early  resumption  of  traffic  and  the  partial  restoration  of  business 
in  Galveston.     Such  a  plan,  it  is  believed,  will  be  adopted. 

What  Galveston  needs  now  is  money  and  disinfectants.  Next 
to  these  tv/o  things,  she  needs  forage.  There  are  now,  as  near  as 
can  be  estimated,  three  hundred  cars  of  provisions  on  the  way,  and 
it  is  thought  that,  wim  what  is  already  here,  that  amount  will 
suf&ce  for  a  time  at  least.  No  more  doctors  are  needed.  Galves 
ton  has  begun  to  emerge  from  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death 
into  which  she  has  been  plunged  for  nearly  a  week,  and  to-day  for 
the  first  time  actual  progress  was  made  toward  clearing  up  the 
city. 

The  bodies  of  those  killed  in  the   storm  have  for  the  most 

part  been  disposed  of     A  large  number  may  be  found  when  the 

debris  is  removed  from  some  of  the  buildings,  but  at  present  there 

are  none  to  be  seen,  save  those   occasionally  cast  up  by  the   sea. 

As  far  as   sight,  at  least,  is  concerned,  the  city  is  cleared  of  its 

dead. 

A    CONFLICT   OF    AUTHORITY. 

A  conflict  of  authority  due  to  a  misunderstanding  precipi- 
tated a  temporary  disorganization  of  the  policing  of  the  city  yes- 
terday. It  seemed  that  when  General  Scurry,  Adjutant-General 
of  the  Texas  Volunteer  Guard,  arrived  in  the  city  with  about  200 
militia  from  Houston,  he  conferred  with  the  Chief  of  Police  as  to 
the  plans  for  preserving  law  and  order.  An  order  was  issued  by 
the  Chief  of  Police  to  the  effect  that  the  soldiers  should  arrest 
all  persons  carrying  arms  unless  they  showed  a  written  order, 
signed  by  the  Chief  of  Police  or  Mayor,  giving  them  permission 
to  go  armed. 

The  result  was  that  about  fifty  citizens  w^earing  Deputy 
Sheriff  badges  were  arrested  by  the  soldiers  and  taken  to  police 
headquarters.  The  soldiers  had  no  way  of  knowing  by  whai 
authority  the  men  were  acting  with  these  badges,  and  would  listen 
to  no  excuses.  After  a  hurried  conference  bstween  General 
Scurry    and   Sheriff   Thomas,  it  was    decided   that   all    Deputy 


122  HARROWING    DETAILS   OF  THE    DISASTER. 

Sheriffs  and  special  officers  shall  be  permitted  to  carry  arms  and 
pass  in  and  out  of  the  guard  lines.  The  Deputy  Sheriffs  and 
special  and  regular  police  now  police  the  city  during  the  day  time 
and  the  militia  take  charge  of  the  city  at  night. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  General  Committee  last  night,  a  com- 
mittee of  representative  citizens  of  Galveston  was  appointed  to  go^ 
to  Austin  at  once  to  confer  with  Governor  Sayres  in  regard  to  the 
situation  here. 

The  need  of  sprinkling  the  streets  with  a  strong  bi-chloride 
solution  and  taking  other  sanitary  precautions  was  discussed,  and 
after  adjournment  of  the  General  Committee  the  Committee  on 
Correspondence  sent  the  following  telegram  : 

"  Galveston,  Texas,  Sept.  13. — To  the  Associated  Press  :  Our 
most  urgent  present  needs  now  are  disinfectants — lime,  cement, 
gasoline  stoves,  gasoline,  charcoal  furnaces  and  charcoal.  Nearby 
towns  also  may  send  bread.  For  the  remainder  of  our  wants 
mone}^  will  be  most  available,  because  we  can  make  purchases 
from  time  to  time  with  more  discretion  than  miscellaneous  con- 
tributors would  exercise.  We  are  bringing  order  ou^  of  chaos, 
and  ac^ain  offer  our  profound  gratitude  for  the  assistance  so  far 

received." 

A   CAMP  AT    HOUSTON. 

At  a  conference  held  at  the  office  of  City  Health  Officer  Wil- 
kinson, it  was  decided  to  accept  the  offer  of  the  United  States 
Marine  Hospital  Service,  and  establish  a  camp  at  Houston,  where 
the  destitute  and  sick  can  be  sent  and  be  properly  cared  for.  The 
physicians  agreed  that  there  were  many  indigent  sick  in  the  city 
who  could  be  removed  from  Galveston,  and  Houston  was  selected, 
because  that  city  had  very  thoughtfully  suggested  the  idea  and 
tendered  a  site  for  the  camp. 

Acting  upon  the  suggestion  to  establish  a  camp  and  care  for 
the  sick  and  needy,  a  message  was  sent  to  the  Surgeon-General, 
at  the  head  of  the  Marine  Hospital  Corps,  asking  for  1000  tents 
of  four  berth  capacity  each,  also  several  hundred  barrels  of  disin- 
fecting fluid. 

Congressman  R.  B.  Hawley,  who  was  in  Washington  at  the 


HARROWING    DETAILS   OF   THE   DISASTER.  125 

time  of  the  storm,  lias  arrived  in  the  city.  "Work  of  a  vast  im- 
portance is  to  be  undertaken  here,"  said  he,  "  Work  on  different 
lines  from  that  which  has  been  our  habit  heretofore.  There  are 
storms  elsewhere.  If  the  people  in  other  parts  of  the  country  built 
as  we  build,  their  cities  would  be  down  and  out  nearly  every  year. 
But  they  build  structures  to  stay,  and  we  must  rebuild  our  city  on^ 
different  lines  and  in  a  different  manner  that  will  resist  the  gales 
as  they  do.  The  port  is  all  right.  The  fullest  depth  of  water 
remains.  The  jetties  with  slight  repair,  are  intact,  and  because 
of  these  conditions  the  restoration  will  be  more  rapid  than  may  be 
thought." 

OFFICIAL    REPORTS    TO    THE    WAR    DEPARTMENT. 

Washington,  Sept.  14. — The  War  Department  has  received 
several  telegrams  relating  to  the  conditions  at  Galveston.  The 
following  is  from  Governor  Sayres  : 

"Austin,  Tex.,  Sept.  13. — Will  wire  you  if  any  further  aid  be 
necessary.  Please  express  to  the  Department  my  most  grateful 
acknowledgment  for  its  prompt  and  generous  assistance. 

"JOSEPH  D.  SAYRBS, 

"Governor." 

General  McKibbin,  September  12th,  reports  generally  upon 
the  condition  at  Galveston  as  follows  : 

"  General  conditions  are  improving  every  hour.  Repairs  to 
water  works  will  by  to-morrow  insure  water  supply  for  fire  pro- 
tection. Provisions  of  all  kinds  are  being  received  in  large 
quantities  ;  enough  are  now  en  route  and  at  Houston  to  feed  all 
destitute  for  thirty  days.  There  is  no  danger  of  suffering  from 
lack  of  food  or  shelter.  City  under  perfect  control,  under  charge  of 
Committee  of  Safety.  Loss  of  life  is  probably  greater  than  my 
conservative  estate  of  yesterday.  Property  loss  enormous  ;  not^ 
an  individual  in  the  city  has  escaped  some  loss  ;  in  thousands  of 
instances  total  loss. 

"To-day,  in  company  with  Colonel  Roberts  and  Captain 
Riche,  made  an  inspection  at  Fort  Crockett,  and  by  tug  of  the 
fortifications  at  Forts  San  Jacinto  and  Travis,  with  the  exception 


124  HARROWiNtJ    DETAILS    OF   THE    DISASTER. 

of  battery  for  two  four  seven-tenths  rapid  fire  guns  batteries  may 
be  considered  non-existent.  Captain  Riclie  lias  forwarded  by  wire 
this  evening  full  report  of  conditions  to  chief  engineer.  I  coin- 
cide in  recommendation  that  all  fortifications  and  ordnance  prop- 
erty be  transferred  to  engineer  officer  here  for  salvage.  Earnestly 
recommend  that  Battery  O,  First  Artillery,  be  ordered  to  Fort 
Sam  Houston  for  recuperation  and  equipment ;  officers  and  men 
are  entirely  destitute.  At  present  a  large  number  are  injured 
and  unfit  for  duty.  Impossible  at  present  to  furnish  them  with 
ordinary  camp  equipage,  clothing,  as  all  transportation  facilities 
are  being  utilized  to  bring  in  food  supplies. 

"McKIBBIN,  Commanding." 
In  a  previous  report  General  McKibbin  praises   the  conduct 
of  the  regulars-     Acting   upon    the   recommendation   of  General 
McKibbin,  Adjutant   General  Corbin  to-day  ordered  Battery  O, 
First  Artillery,  from  Galveston  to  Fort  Sam  Houston. 

CAPTAIN    RICHE'S    REPORT. 

General  John  M.  Wilson,  Chief  of  Engineers,  received  the 
following  comprehensive  report  from  Captain  Riche  as  to  the  con- 
dition of  Government  property  at  Galveston  : 

"Jetties  sunk  nearly  to  mean  low  tide  level,  but  not  seriously 
breached.  Channel  at  least  as  good  as  before,  perhaps  better. 
Twenty-five  feet  certainly.  Forts  as  follows  :  Fort  Crocket — Two 
fifteen-pounder  emplacement,  concrete  all  right,  standing  on  piling, 
water  underneath.  Batter}^  for  eight  mortars  about  like  preceding, 
mortars  and  carriages  on  hand  unmounted.  Batter}^  for  two  ten- 
inch  guns  about  like  preceding,  both  guns  mounted  and  in  good 
shape.  Shore  line  at  Fort  Crocket  has  moved  back  about  600  feet. 
Fort  San  Jacinto — Battery  for  eight  twelve-inch  mortars  badly 
wrecked,  magazines  reported  fallen  in  ;  mortars  reported  safe.  No 
piling  was  under  this  battery  ;  some  of  the  sand  parapet  left. 
Battery  for  two  ten-inch  guns  badly  wrecked.  Central  portion 
level,  both  gun  platforms  down,  guns  leaning  ;  no  piling  was 
under  this  battery. 

"  Battery  for  two  four  seven-tenths   rapid-fire   gunS;  concrete 


HARROWING   DETAILS  OF  THE   DISASTER.  12.5 

standing  upon  piling  ;  botli  guns  apparently  all  right.  Battery 
for  two  fifteen-pounder  guns,  concrete  apparently  all  right,  stand- 
ing on  piling.  Fort  San  Jacinto  battery  could  not  be  reached  by 
land  ;  inspection  was  from  a  distance.  Sand  around  these  bat- 
teries seemed  pretty  well  leveled  off  to  about  two  to  three  feet 
above  mean  low.  Torpedo  casements,  nothing  but  concrete  left 
and  badly  wrecked. "  Concrete  portion  of  cable  tank  left ;  cable  in 
it  probably  safe.  Part  of  coal  wharf  still  standing.  Everything 
else  in  vicinity  gone.  Some  of  the  mine  cases  are  down  the  beach 
as  far  as  Fort  Crockett. 

BATTERIES    UNDERMINED. 

''Fort  Travis — Battery  for  three  fifteen-pounder  guns,  con- 
crete intact,  standing  on  piling.  Water  underneath.  Battery  for 
two  eight-inch  guns,  concrete  intact,  except  eastern  emplacement, 
which  has  cracked  off;  eastern  gun  down  and  twenty  feet  from 
battery ;  western  one  all  right ;  concrete  standing  on  piling ;  water 
underneath  middle  of  battery.  These  batteries  were  inspected  from 
the  channel.  Shore  line  has  moved  back  about  i,ooo  feet,  about 
on  the  line  of  the  rear  of  these  batteries.  All  buildings  and 
other  structures  gone.  Inspection  was  made  with  General  Mc- 
Kibben. 

''  Recommendation  is  made  that  all  fortifications  and  property 
be  transferred  to  the  Engineer  Department.  That  for  the  present 
batteries  be  considered  non-existent  so  that  future  work  may  be 
chargeable  as  original  construction.  Much  ordnance  can  be 
saved  if  given  prompt  attention.  Unless  otherwise  instructed,  I 
will  take  charge  of  these  works  at  once  and  save  all  possible. 
New  projects  for  jetties  and  forts  cannot  be  submitted  for  several 
weeks  until  definite  detailed  information  is  had.  Further 
recommendations  will  then  be  submitted  as  soon  as  possible.  Gal- 
veston is  still  a  deep  water  port,  and  such  a  storm  is  not  likely  tc 
reoccur  for  years.  "  RICHE,  Engineer." 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  number  of  boats  carrying 
passengers  between  Texas  City  and  Galveston  has  been  largely 
increased,  it  was  impossible  '^n  Thursday,  the  13th,  to  leave  the 


19f5  HARROWING    DETAILS   OF   THE    DISASTER. 

city  after  the  early  morning  hours,  and  hundreds  of  men,  women 
and  children,  all  anxious  to  depart,  suffered  great  inconvenience 
and  hardship,  and  were,  after  all,  compelled  to  sleep  upon  the 
beach  at  Texas  City,  waiting  for  the  morning.  There  is  but  one 
steamboat  plying  across  Galveston  Bay,  which  is  able  to  carry 
passengers  in  any  number,  and  even  this  boat  is  able  to  make  the 
trip  only  with  extreme  caution,  on  account  of  the  shallowness  of 
the  bay. 

Yesterday  morning  somebody  lacked  something  of  being 
cautious  in  the  extreme,  and  the  "  Lawrence,"  after  jamming  her 
nose  into  the  mud,  remained  aground  all  day.  Her  passengers 
were  taken  off  in  small  boats.  This  compelled  all  those  who  were 
unable  to  come  on  the  first  trip  of  the  "Lawrence"  to  trust  them- 
selves to  sailboats,  and  by  noon  a  dozen  of  them,  heavily  loaded, 
started  from  Galveston  to  Texas  City,  where  the  fleet  was  scat- 
tered over  Galveston  Bay  by  a  distance  of  anywhere  between  one 
mile  and  three  miles.     The  wind  died  away  utterly. 

URGED  TO  HURRY  A  TRAIN. 

The  boats  could  neither  go  on  to  Texas  City  nor  return  to 
Galveston.  None  of  them  had  more  than  a  meagre  suppl}^  of 
water  and  no  food,  as  the  trip  ordinarily  does  not  require  above 
an  hour.  Great  suffering  resulted.  All  afternoon  they  were 
becalmed,  and,  a  slight  breeze  arising  in  the  evening,  at  9  o'clock 
at  night  the  sailing  craft  which  had  left  Galveston  at  noon  began 
to  dump  their  passengers  upon  the  beach  at  Texas  City.  This 
place  is  now  among  the  things  that  once  were.  There  are  no 
houses,  no  tents,  no  accommodations  of  any  kind  save  a  few  pas- 
senger coaches  standing  upon  the  railroad  track.  These  were 
speedily  filled,  and  the  rest  of  the  women  and  children,  all  hungry 
and  the  latter  crying  for  food,  were  compelled  to  remain  on  the 
beach. 

An  urgent  message  was  sent  to  the  railway  people  at  Hous- 
ton, saying  that  women  and  children  were  suffering,  and  asking 
them  to  hurry  a  train  to  Texas  City  for  the  purpose  of  conveying 
the  refugees   to  Houston.     No  reply  was   received,  and  when  a 


HARROWING    DETAILS    OF  THE   DISASTER.  127 

train,  whose  crew  knew  nothing  of  the  existing  conditions  at 
Texas  City,  finally  appeared,  the  announcement  was  made  that  it 
would  not  go  before  morning.  The  crowd  at  Texas  City  was 
more  than  enough  to  fill  the  train  to  the  limit,  but,  notwithstand- 
ing, determined  to  allow  the  'Xawrence"  to  attempt  once  more  the 
perils  of  the  mud  and  await  another  consignment  of  refugees. 

It  was  fully  twenty  hours  after  their  start  from  Galveston 
that  the  people  who  left  there  yesterday  noon  were  able  to  move 
out  from  Texas  City,  which  is  only  eight  miles  away,  and  by  the 
time  the  train  had  made  a  start  for  Houston,  every  woman  in  the 
crowd  was   ill   through    lack   of  food,  exposure    and    insufB.cient 

sleep. 

NO    RED    TAPE    TO    STAND    IN    THE    WAY. 

Washington,  Sept.  14 — General  Spaulding,  Acting  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  took  further  measures  to-day  for  the  relief  of  the 
distressed  citizens  of  Galveston  by  arranging  for  their  transporta- 
tion by  foreign  vessels  to  New  Orleans  or  other  gulf  ports.  The 
law  provides  that  American  vessels  only  can  carry  passengers  be- 
tween American  ports,  but  during  the  present  conditions  the 
Treasury  Department  will  remit  the  penalties  to  which  foreign 
vessels  would  be  liable,  for  the  relief  of  Galveston. 

The  Rev,  J.  F.  McCarthy,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  assistant  pastor 
of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  to-day  received  a  special  despatch  from 
Galveston  to  the  effect  that  all  of  the  twenty-four  Newark  nuns  at 
the  Catholic  Convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart  at  that  place  had  been 
saved  from  the  general  destruction  of  life  and  property  by  the 
terrible  cyclone  of  Saturday.  Father  McCarthy  at  once  despatched 
a  special  message  to  the  homes  of  the  nuns'  relatives  with  this 
information.  They  were  reported  lost  in  an  account  contained  in 
in  a  preceding  chapter  of  this  volume. 

A  prominent  newspaper  called  attention  to  the  necessities  of 
the  situation  as  follows  : 

"  As  later  news  is  received  from  Texas  the  full  extent  of  the 
destruction  of  life  and  property  is  revealed.  No  such  visitation 
of  nature's  force  has  ever  before  descended  upon  a  community  in 
this  country.     There  is  no  longer  any  doubt  that  the  death  list 


128  HARROWING    DETAILS   OF    iHE   DISASTER. 

will  run  into  the  thousands.  It  will  probably  never  be  known 
accurately  how  many  perished  in  the  track  of  last  Sunday's  storm. 
Many  bodies  have  been  washed  out  to  sea,  and  of  the  hundreds  of 
corpses  that  lay  exposed  in  the  streets  and  buried  under  fallen 
buildings  only  a  fraction  will  be  identified. 

"  For  the  sanitary  protection  of  the  living  it  has  been  found 
necessary  to  deny  the  dead  an  ordinary  burial.  A  great  city  full  . 
of  prosperous  people  has  been  suddenly  left  without  food,  water, 
clothing  and  all  the  daily  necessaries  of  life.  Worst  of  all,  the 
survivors  are  absolutely  without  means  of  recuperation  from  the 
awful  disaster  that  has  overtaken  them.  They  are  totally  depend- 
ent upon  the  outside  world  for  assistance. 

RELIEF  FOR  TEXAS  SUFFERERS. 

"In  the  first  steps  of  relief  for  those  who  have  been  stricken 
our  northern  cities  made  a  generous  response  to  the  call  for  aid. 
The  hearts  of  our  citizens  have  been  profoundly  stirred,  and  they 
have  given  out  of  hand  without  questioning  or  hesitancy.  Every- 
thing that  would  contribute  to  the  care  of  the  suffering  and  the 
succor  of  the  needy  has  been  offered  without  stint.  All  alike  have 
come  forward  with  their  donations,  rich  and  poor,  according  to 
their  means. 

"  From  Philadelphia  was  dispatched  a  train  of  four  cars 
loaded  with  a  quarter  of  million  pounds  of  supplies  furnished  by 
the  people  of  that  city  for  the  relief  of  the  distressed  at  Galveston 
and  along  the  Gulf  coast.  With  the  train  went  eight  volunteer 
nurses  to  care  for  the  sick  and  injured.  They  will  arrive  on  the 
ground  none  too  soon,  for  the  local  resources  of  Texas  are  being 
greatly  overtaxed. 

"The  supplies  have  been  selected  with  judgment,  so  that 
they  will  not  suffer  in  transit  and  in  distribution,  and  only  non- 
perishable  goods  have  been  chosen,  for  it  will  be  weeks  before  the 
stricken  district  will  have  strength  to  provide  for  itself  But 
there  will  be  time  enough  for  future  measures.  It  is  the  first  aid 
that  counts.  Our  people  have  been  doubly  generous,  because 
they  have  not  stood  upon  the  order  of  their  giving." 


CHAPTER   Vli. 

Not  a  House  in  Galveston  Escaped  Damage — Young  and 
Old,  Rich  and  Poor,  Hurried  to  a  Watery  Grave — Citizen; 
with  Guns  Guarding  the  Living  and  the  Dead. 

THE  all-absorbing  story  of  the  great  flood  is  continued  in  the 
following  pages,   with  new  and  thrilling  incidents.     Best 
informed  residents  of  Galveston  who  have  been  over  all  por- 
tions of  the  cit}^  estimate  that  from  1200  to  1300  acres  were  swept 
clear  of  habitation.     It  can  be  said  that  not  one  Galveston  home 
escaped  without  some  damage. 

Galveston's  great  open-air  show-place  was  the  Garten  Verein. 
There  were  various  struv^tures  devoted  to  recreation  which  stood  on 
about  seven  acres  of  grou  id  that  had  been  brought  to  a  degree  of 
perfection  in  gardening  hardly  credible  when  the  foundation  of 
sand  was  remembered.  H.mdreds  of  oleander  trees  and  flower- 
beds adorned  the  park.  I'he  Garten  Verein  was  wiped  out  of 
existence.     Among  the  debri  s  have  been  found  many  bodies. 

SLOWLY    RECOVERING    FROM    THE    STUNNING    BLOW. 

Galveston  is  now  begin  fling  slowly  to  recover  from  the  stun- 
ning blow  of  last  week,  and  vhough  the  city  appears  to-night  to  be 
pitilessly  desolated,  the  authorities  and  the  commercial  and  indus- 
trial interests  are  setting  their  forces  to  work  and  a  start  has  at 
least  been  made  toward  the  resumption  of  business  on  a  moderate 
scale.  Plans  for  rebuilding  the  city  are  also  discussed.  The  pres- 
ence of  the  troops  has  had  f  Ix^neficial  effect  upon  the  criminal 
classes,  and  the  apprehensi  n  o^"  a  brief  but  desperate  reign  of 
.'.marchy  no  longer  exists. 

The  liquor  saloons  have  at  least  temporarily  gone  out  of  busi- 
ness, and  every  strong-limbed  man  who  has  not  his  own  humble 
abode  to  look  after  is  being  pressed  into  service,  so  that,  first  of  all, 
the  water-service   may  be  resumed,  the  gutters   flushed  and  the 

streets  lighted, 

9  _  129 


130  HURRIED  TO  A  vVaTERY  GRAVE. 

The  further  the  ruius  are  explored  the  greater  becomes  the 
increase  in  the  list  of  those  who  perished  as  their  houses  fell  about 
their  heads.  On  the  lower  beach  a  searching  party  found  a  score 
of  corpses  within  a  small  area,  going  to  show  that  the  bulwark  of 
debris  that  lies  straight  across  the  island  conceals  many  more 
bodies  than  have  been  accounted  for. 

Volunteer  gangs  continue  their  work  of  hurried  burial  of  thd 
corpses  they  find  on  the  shores  of  Galveston  Island  at  the  many 
neighboring  points  where  fatalities  attended  the  storm.  It  will 
probably  be  many  days  yet,  however,  before  all  the  floating  bor.ies 
have  found  nameless  graves. 

MANGLED    CORPSES    WASHED    ASHORE. 

Along  the  beach  they  are  constantly  being  washed  up. 
Whether  these  are  those  who  were  swept  out  into  the  Gulf  and 
drowned  or  are  simply  the  return  of  some  of  those  cast  into  the  sea 
to  guard  against  terrible  pestilence,  there  is  no  means  of  knowing. 
In  any  event,  the  correspondent,  in  a  trip  across  the  bay  yesterday, 
counted  seven  bodies  tossing  in  the  waves  with  a  score  of  horses 
and  cattle. 

The  city  still  presents  the  appearance  of  widespread  wreck  and 
ruin.  Little  has  been  done  to  clear  the  streets  of  the  terrible  tangle 
of  wires  and  the  masses  of  wreck,  mortar,  slate,  stone  and  glass  that 
bestrew  them.  Many  of  the  sidewalks  are  impassable.  Some  of 
them  are  littered  with  debris.  Others  are  so  thickly  covered  with 
slime  that  walking  on  them  is  out  of  the  question. 

As  a  general  rule,  substantial  frame  buildings  withstood  better 
the  blasts  of  the  gale  than  those  of  brick.  In  other  instances, 
however,  small  wooden  structures,  cisterns  and  whole  sides  of 
houses  are  lying  in  streets  or  backyards  squares  away  from  where 
they  originally  stood. 

Here  and  there  business  men  have  already  put  men  to  work 
to  repair  the  damage  done,  but  in  the  main  the  commercial  inter- 
ests seem  to  be  uncertain  about  following  the  lead  of  those  who 
apparently  show  faith  in  the  rapid  rehabilitation  of  the  island  city. 
The  appearance  of  the  newspapers  to-day,  after  a  suspension  of 


HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE.  131 

vSeveral  daj^s,  is  having  a  good  effect,  and  both  the  News  and  Tri- 
bune are  urging  prompt  succoring  of  the  suffering  and  then  equal 
promptness  in  reconstruction. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  yet  what  the  ultimate  effect  of  the  dis- 
aster is  to  be  on  the  city.  Many  people  have  left  and  some  may 
never  return.  The  experience  of  others  still  here  was  so  frightful 
that  not  all  will  remain  if  they  can  conveniently  find  occupation  in 
other  cities. 

WONDERFUL    COURAGE    AND    HOPE. 

The  bulk  of  the  population,  however,  is  only  temporaril}''  panic 
stricken,  and  there  are  hosts  of  those  who  helped  to  make  Galveston 
great  who  look  upon  the  catastrophe  as  involving  only  a  tempo- 
rary halt  in  the  advancement  of  the  city. 

The  decision  of  the  transportation  lines  will  do  more  than 
anything  else  to  restore  confidence.  Big  ships,  new  arrivals,  rode 
at  anchor  to-day  in  front  of  the  city.  They  had  just  reached  the 
port  and  found  the  docks  and  pier  damage  so  widespread  that  no 
accommodations  could  be  given  to  them. 

The  losses  to  the  charitable  institutions  of  the  city  were  very 
heavy.  Sealy  Hospital,  the  gift  of  the  late  John  Sealy,  was  one 
of  the  largest  institutions  of  Texas.  Very  serious  damage  was 
sustained.  Almost  the  first  work  of  restoration  begun  on  any  pub- 
lic structure  was  at  the  Sealy  Hospital. 

The  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Texas  included 
what  is  known  as  Brackenridge  Hall.  This  hall  was  the  gift  of 
George  W.  Brackenridge,  of  San  Antonio.  It  was  seriously  dam- 
aged. The  Old  Women's  Hospital  is  a  complete  ruin.  St.  Mary's 
Infirmary,  on  Tenth  and  Market  Streets,  was  entirely  destroyed. 
The  Ursuline  Convent  and  the  Ursuline  Academy  were  partiall}' 
demolished.  The  convent  is  now  a  haven  of  refuge  of  500  house- 
less people. 

The  Catholic  Orphans'  Asylum  disappeared,  leaving  but 
slight  traces  in  the  form  of  ruins.  It  was  supposed  that  the 
inmates,  some  ninety-nine  sisters  and  little  children,  had  been 
swept  out  into  the  gulf  when  the  waters  receded.     Within  the  past 


132  HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE. 

few  days  bodies  of  several  of  the  victims  at  tlie  asylum  liave  been 
found. 

It  appeared  that  when  the  sisters  found  the  waters  risiug  all 
around  the  asylum  their  only  thoughts  were  for  their  little  charges. 
They  tied  the  children  in  bunches  and  then  each  sister  fastened 
to  herself  one  of  these  groups  of  orphans,  determined  to  save  them 
or  die  with  them.  Two  of  these  groups  have  been  found  under 
wreckage.  In  each  case  eight  children  had  been  fastened  together 
and  then  tied  to  a  sister. 

Galveston's  school  buildings,  public  and  private,  were  unsur- 
passed for  solidity  and  architectural  finish.     An  examination  of  the  ' 
public  school  buildings  shows  that  scarcely  one  is  fit  for  use. 

Houses  of  worship  suffered  severely,  although  most  of  them 
were  quite  substantial.  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  the  Baptist 
Church,  Trinity  Episcopal,  the  Fourth  Presbyterian,  St.  Mary's 
Cathedral,  St.  John's  Methodist,  the  Seamen's  Bethel  and  two 
other  churches  on  Broad  Street,  between  Twenty-first  and  Tre- 
mont,  sustained  either  total  destruction  or  such  damages  that  they 
must  be  rebuilt.  Grace  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  west  end,  which 
was  one  of  the  many  benefactions  of  the  late  Henry  Rosenberg, 
escaped  with  slight  injury. 

BUSINESS    HOUSES    SUFFER    GREAT    LOSS. 

One  of  the  most  notable  buildings  of  the  city  was  that  of  the 
Improvement  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  at  Post  Office  and  Tre- 
mont  street.  The  damage  sustained  was  not  serious.  The  E.  S. 
Levy  office  building,  on  Market  and  Tremont  streets,  cost  $135,00x3. 
It  contained  150  offices,  and  was  considered  a  marvel  of  the  town. 
This  building  withstood  the  storm  and  the  occupants  escaped  by 
staying  in  their  offices. 

The  Marx  and  Blum  Buildings,  Twenty-fourth  and  Mechanic*' 
streets,  was  one  of  the  large  commercial  structures.  It  was  occu- 
pied in  part  by  the  Galveston  Hat  and  Shoe  Co.  The  damages  to 
the  building  and  the  stocks  are  placed  now  at  $75,000.  The 
Clarke  and  Courts  Building  sustained  a  loss  to  building  and  stock 
of  $40,000.     The  Galveston  Cotton  and  Woolen  Mills  suffered  to 


HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE.  133 

the  amount  of  $75,000.  The  Galveston  City  Railroad  power- 
house was  demolished,  and  it  is  estimated  that  $100,000  will  be 
required  to  restore  the  plant. 

The  business  structures  did  not  suffer  the  total  destruction 
that  occurred  in  so  much  of  the  residence  section,  but  many  are 
so  badly  damaged  that  they  will  have  to  be  torn  down. 

LARGEST   ELEVATOR    BADLY    DAMAGED. 

Galveston  had  a  gigantic  elevator  interest  which  had  developecl 
with  the  port's  growing  grain  trade.  Elevator  ''  A  "  at  Fourteenth 
street,  on  the  Bay  side,  was  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world.  Its 
capacity  was  in  excess  of  1,500,000  bushels  of  wheat.  All  the 
upper  works  of  the  elevator  are  gone. 

One  of  the  remarkable  things  about  the  force  of  the  storm 
was  that  it  tore  from  their  moorings  several  large  steamships  and 
carried  them  in  diverse  directions.  For  example,  the  Kendall 
Castle  an  English  ship,  was  swept  from  Pier  33  across  Pelican 
Island  and  landed  on  the  shore  at  Texas  City.  That  was  a  course 
almost  due  north.  Possibly  a  dredge  may  be  able  to  cut  a  channel 
which  will  let  the  Kendall  Castle  out  of  the  shoal  part  of  the  Ba}', 
where  it  lies  high  in  the  water. 

The  Norwegian  Gyller,  a  steamer  of  considerable  tonnage, 
now  lies  stranded  between  Virginia  Point  and  Texas  City.  Its 
course  varied  considerably  from  that  of  the  Kendall  Castle.  A 
channel  would  have  to  be  cut  so  far  to  float  out  the  Gyller  that 
there  is  doubt  whether  it  would  be  warranted  by  the  amount  at 
stake. 
„  One  of  the  most  serious  results  of  the  storm   has   been   the 

"damage  to  the  electric  light  and  street  car  plants.  The  city  has 
•'been  in  absolute  darkness  for  several  nights,  and  only  a  few  con- 
cerns who  operate  their  own  illuminating  services  are  enabled  to 
do  business.  Nearly  every  residence  has  gone  back  to  the  primi- 
tive candle.  The  absence  of  street  lights  drives  all  who  have  no 
imperative  business  on  the  streets  to  their  homes  at  nightfall,  but 
the  work  of  the  patrol  S3^steni  is  made  more  difficult  thereby  and 
the  opportunity  for  looting  greater. 


134  HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE. 

The  motormen  deserted  tlieir  cars  when  the  fur}/  of  the  wiud 
and  the  rush  of  the  water  made  it  no  longer  possible  to  operate 
them.  Attempts  are  being  made  now  to  get  the  cars  in  shape 
again.  The  great  destruction  of  live  stock  has  climated  the  car- 
riages and  cabs  as  a  means  of  transportation. 

The  work  of  relief  continues  energetically.  Mayor  Jones  and 
his  associates  are  bending  every  nerve  to  open  a  direct  line  of  trans- 
portation with  Houston  by  which  he  may  be  enabled  promptly  to 
receive  the  great  quantity  of  provisions  which  are  now  en  the  way 
to  the  city-  The  Relief  Committee  is  striving  to  systematize  its  work. 
On  Tuesday  an  ordinance  was  passed  authorizing  rescuing  and 
burying  parties  to  set  fire  to  wrecked  buildings  and  burn  them.  In 
these  funeral  pyres  hundreds  of  corpses  were  cremated. 

CARING  FOR  HOMELESS  REFUGEES. 

Houston  now  is  the  haven  of  the  unfortunate  people  of  Gal- 
veston. Trains  have  already  brought  in  between  500  and  1000  of 
the  survivors,  and  a  motley  crowd  they  are.  Men  bareheaded, 
barefooted,  hatless  and  coatless,  with  swollen  feet  and  bruised  and 
blackened  bodies  and  heads  were  numerous.  Women  of  wealth 
and  refinement,  frequently  hatless,  shoeless,  with  gowns  in  shreds, 
were  among  the  refugees.  Nearly  all  of  those  who  came  in  have 
suffered  the  loss  of  one  or  more  of  their  family.  It  is  remarkable, 
however,  there  is  no  whimpering,  no  complaining. 

The  refugees  are  being  housed  and  fed,  and  those  in  need  of 
medical  attention  are  placed  in  the  hospitals.  General-Manager 
Van  Vleck,  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  says  the  damage  to  the  wharves 
is  fully  eighty  per  cent.  The  Southern  Pacific,  he  says,  expects  to 
begin  work  on  the  bridge  within  two  days.  It  is  expected  that  ' 
trains  will  be  run  into  Galveston  within  forty  days. 

John  J.  Moody,  a  member  of  the  committee  sent  from  Houston^ 
to  take  charge  of  the  relief  station  at  Texas  City,  reports  as  follows  ; ' 

"  On  arriving  at  La  Marque  this  morning  I  was  informed  that 
the  largest  number  of  bodies  were  along  the  coast  of  Texas  City. 
Fifty-six  were  buried  yesterday  and  to-day  within  less  than  two 
miles  extending  opposite  this  place  and  towards  Virginia  City.     It 


HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE.  135 

is  yet  six  miles  further  to  Virginia  City  and  the  bodies  are  thicker 
where  we  are  now  than  where  they  have  been  buried.  A  citizen  in- 
specting in  the  opposite  direction  reports  dead  bodies  thick  for 
twenty  miles. 

"  The  residents  of  this  place  have  lost  all,  not  a  habitable  build- 
ing being  left,  and  they  have  been  too  busy  disposing  ©f  the  dead 
to  look  after  personal  affairs.  Those  who  have  anything  left  arel 
giving  it  to  others,  and  yet  there  is  real  suffering.  I  have  given 
away  nearly  all  the  bread  I  brought  for  our  own  use  to  hungry 
children. 

"  Every  ten  feet  along  the  wreck-lined    coast  tells  of  acts  of 
vandalism.     Not  a  trunk,  valise  or  tool  chest  has  escaped  rifling, 
We  buried  a  woman  this  afternoon  whose  fingers  bore  the  mark  of 
a  recently  removed  ring." 

WASHED  ACROSS  THE  BAY  FROM  GALVESTON. 

B.  F.  Cameron,  a  lumber  dealer  of  Stowell,  Chambers  County, 
says  that  the  relief  party  which  went  from  Stowell  to  Bolivar,  re- 
ported to  him  that  there  was  over  looo  dead  bodies  on  the  beach  at 
Bolivar,  Yeast  Bay,  and  in  sight  of  the  salt  marshes  which  line  the 
bay.  The  party  succeeded  in  burying  only  forty  of  the  corpses. 
The  others  are  lying  in  the  water  and  on  land,  decomposing  in  the 
heat.  Many  of  these  bodies  were  evidently  swept  across  the  bay 
from  Galveston. 

In  view  of  the  completeness  \vith  which  Galveston  has  been 
destroyed  by  the  storm,  many  believe  the  city  will  never  be  rebuilt. 
The  argument  is  that  from  its  very  location  the  city  is  ever  in 
danger  of  a  similar  visitation,  and  capital  will  be  fearful  of  invest- 
ment where  the  danger  is  so  constant. 

There  are  many,  however,  who  take  the  opposite  view  and  say 
that  in  no  other  place  on  the  Gulf  can  there  be  found  a  location  so 
advantageous,  and  therefore,  no  matter  if  the  risk  be  great,  capital 
will  seek  investment  in  Galveston,  and  the  city  will  soon  resume 
her  importance  as  a  shipping  port. 

This  sentiment  is  reflected  in  telegrams  and  verbal  utterances, 
some  of  which  are  here  printed  : 


136  HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE. 

Dallas,  Texas,  Wednesday. — Miich  serious  thought  has  beeu 
given  to  the  question  of  the  future  of  Galveston  by  the  best 
informed  men  of  Dallas  since  the  calamity  of  last  Saturday  and 
Sunday.  The  outlook,  to  their  minds,  is  not  a  bright  one.  The 
expression  of  judgment  most  frequently  heard  is  "Galveston  is 
doomed."  Men  reason  that  to  the  perils  the  population  have  ever 
to  face  from  nature's  elements  the  timidity  of  capital  must  now  be 
added. 

In  the  great  storm  of  1875  little  of  private  or  public  capital 
ran  the  risk  of  destruction.  The  great  wharves,  elevators,  com- 
presses and  railway  and  steamship  systems  had  taken  but  slight 
foothold  in  the  island  city.  The  federal  government  had  built 
jetties  and  general  harbor  improvements  and  coast  defences,  at  a 
cost  of  more  than  $10,000,000  of  public  money.  All  these  millions 
of  public  and  private  wealth  have  been  put  into  Galveston  enter- 
prises since  1875. 

CAPITAL  WILL  BE  SHY  HEREAFTER. 

Capitalists  will  scarcely  venture  again  in  the  near  future  to 
invest  their  money  in  a  place  where  it  is  likely  to  be  wiped  out  at 
a  ratio  of  from  $5,000,000  to  $10,000,000  to  one  equinoctial  storm. 
And  when  the  Federal  Government  contemplates  costly  brand  new 
coast  defence  fortifications,  such  as  Fort  Sam  Houston,  shattered 
by  wind  and  waves,  and  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  garrison  killed,  it 
will  not  consider  the  place  where  these  ventures  were  made  a  safe 
one  for  their  duplication.  A  harbor  to  be  safe  must  be  land 
locked. 

These  are  the  views  of  thinking  men  who  have  studied  the 
situation.  The  question  then  arises.  What  will  supersede  Galves- 
ton ?  Some  predict  that  Houston,  fifty  miles  in  the  interior,  on 
Buffalo  Bayou,  through  the  agency  of  a  ship  canal  built  at  the 
expense  of  the  federal  government,  is  the  coming  metropolis  of 
Ithe  Gulf. 

Others  say  Texas  City,  ten  miles  from  Galveston,  will  now  be 
developed  as  a  grand  maritime  successor  to  the  unfortunate  island 
city.      Others  say   Clinton,    on    Buffalo   Bayou,   six   miles   below 


HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE.  137 

Houston,  because  of  its  facilities  to  furnish  water  and  rail  termi- 
nals, will  be  the  Texas  seaport  of  the  near  future. 

Very  few  expect  unfortunate  Galveston  to  rise  again  and 
reassert  herself  the  mistress  of  the  Gulf.  A  Galveston  man  illus- 
trated the  problem  very  aptly  to-night,  when  he  said: 

"  Fully  one-half  of  the  population  of  Galveston  will  never  go 
back  there  to  live  if  they  be  got  off  the  island  alive  this  time.  My 
opinion  is  that  Galveston  has  had  her  rise  and  fall." 

AUSTIN    PREDICTS    NO    DESERTION    OF   THE    CITY. 

Austin,  Texas,  Wednesday. — In  the  first  shadow  of  the  awful 
calamity  which  has  befallen  Galveston  the  thought  of  many  is  that 
Galveston  City  will  have  to  be  removed  to  the  mainland  or  de- 
serted. Nevertheless,  calmer  opinion  is  that  the  city  will  not  be 
moved.  There  are  too  many  interests  concerned,  too  much  money 
invested  and  too  many  possibilities  to  think  of  moving  the  city. 

Property  losses,  while  great,  are  not  beyond  repair.  The  city 
may  not  for  many  years  regain  the  popularity  it  enjoyed  up  to  last 
week,  but  it  is  believed  that  with  the  passage  of  time  and  the 
allaying  of  public  fear  the  place  will  begin  to  revive. 

Millions  are  invested  there  in  harbor  improvements  that  would 
be  useless  were  the  island  deserted.  Millions  more  invested  in 
business  weathered  the  storm,  save  as  to  windows  and  roofs,  and 
these  can  be  easily  repaired. 

Wharfing  interests  representing  millions  will  cost  mon^y  to 
get  back  into  shape  again,  but  the  belief  is  general  that  it  will  be 
done.  The  business  interests  of  Texas  demand  a  port  such  as 
Galveston,  and  while  the  town  may  not  regain  within  five  or  six 
years  the  resident  population  it  had,  it  is  not  probable  that  it  will 
be  depopulated. 

When  the  storm  of  1875  swept  the  island  it  did  considerable 
damage,  and  it  took  several  years  for  the  public  to  shake  off  the 
fear  of  a  residence  there.  They  did  so,  however,  and  went  back, 
and  it  is  believed  that  they  will  do  so  again. 

Prominent  citizens  of  Galveston  to  a  man  say  that  no  thought 
of  moving  the  city  to  the  mainland  or  a  more  protected  spot  can 


138  HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE. 

be  entertained,  as  there  are  too  many  interests  in  Galveston  that 
cannot  be  transplanted,  and  that  have  not  been  so  badly  affected  by 
the  storm  as  to  render  them  useless. 

Railroads  are  already  reconstructing  bridges  across  the  bay, 
and  trade  will  be  moving  through  the  port  within  a  fortnight. 

To  protect  the  city  of  Galveston  from  the  ravages  of  x^uture 
cyclones  would  be  almost  as  costly  as  to  re-establish  the  city  on  a 
new  site. 

This  is  the  opinion  of  eminent  engineers  in  Washington.  To 
insure  the  maintenance  of  the  channel  it  has  been  necessary  to 
erect  jetties  whi'ch  have  cost  more  than  $6,000,000.  These  jetties, 
however,  do  not  furnish  an  obstacle  of  any  importance  to  the  inva- 
sion of  the  sea  when  behind  it  is  a  force  such  as  a  West  India 
cyclone  exert*?. 

Because  of  the  effect  of  storms  upon  the  Gulf  coast,  it  has 
been  customary  for  engineer  officers  stationed  at  Galveston  to  report 
yearly  upon  the  appearance  of  atmospheric  disturbances  of  more 
than  U3iial  intensity,  and  Captain  Rich,  the  engineer  officer  who  is 
believed  to  have  lost  his  life,  said  in  his  report  for  1899  that  storms 
which  occurred  during  April,  May  and  June,  1S99,  "  carried  away 
nearly  all  that  remained  of  construction  trestle  and  track  and 
caused  more  or  less  settlement  of  the  jetties." 

GREAT  NEED  OF  A  SAFE  HARBOR. 

The  need  of  a  safe  deep-water  harbor  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
has  long  been  appreciated,  and  in  1899  Congress  passed  an  act  di- 
rccling  the  Secretary  of  War  to  appoint  a  Board  of  three  engineer 
officers  of  the  army  to  make  a  careful  and  critical  examination  of 
the  American  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  west  of  93  degrees  and 
30  minutes  west  longitude,  and  to  "  report  as  to  the  most  eligible 
points  for  a  deep  harbor,  to  be  of  ample  depth,  width  and  capacity 
to  accommodate  the  largest  ocean-going  vessels  and  the  commercial 
and  naval  necessities  of  the  country." 

The  Board  consisted  of  Lieutenant-Colonels  H.  M.   Robert,  \ 
G.  L.  Gillespie  and  Jared  A.  Smith.     It  is  reported  that  Galveston 
was  the  most  eligible  point  for  a  deep  harbor,  but  also  called  atten- 


HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE.  139 

tlon   to   tlie  harbors  at  Sabine  Pass  and  x\ransas  Pass  as  being 
worthy  of  consideration. 

In  New  York  the  views  of  railroad  men  concerning  ilie  futmc 
of   Galveston  as  a  shipping  point   are    far  from    gloom}^     A.  F. 
Walker,   Chairman    of  the  Board   of  Directors  of  the    Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad,  says  he  expects  the  city  to  be  re-^ 
built  within  three  months. 

"Of  course,"  said  Mr.  Walker,  "it  is  a  serious  blow  to  Galves- 
ton, and  with  the  city  covered  with  mud  and  wreckage  it  is  easy  to 
prophesy  evil  for  its  future,  but  two  weeks  will  suffice  to  clear  the 
wreckage  and  clean  the  streets,  get  the  dead  buried  and  make  a 
careful  estimate  of  the  actual  loss.  This  loss  is  tremendous,  there 
can  be  no  doubt,  but  it  has  very  likely  been  grossly  exaggerated. 

"  Galveston  will  rebuild,  and  quickly,  because  the  site  com- 
bines the  greatest  natural  advantages  as  a  Gulf  port  and  has  solid 
commercial  backing.  It  is  imperative  that  we  have  a  port  on  the 
Gulf — the  extent  of  shipping  demands  it.  Galveston  offers,  in  spite 
of  the  real  handicap  of  her  low  position,  the  best  site,  and  I  see  no 
reason  why  it  should  not  be  rapidly  rebuilt." 

BELIEVES  CITY  WILL  BE  REBUILT. 

Vice-President  Tweed,  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  said 
this  morning  that  he  felt  sure  that  his  road  would  repair  the  dam- 
age done  to  its  properties  at  Galveston,  and  go  on  with  further  im- 
provements planned. 

"  I  take  it  for  granted,"  Mr.  Tweed  declared,  "that  the  direc- 
tors of  the  Southern  Pacific  will  keep  up  the  work  they  started 
there.  I  do  not  think  that  this  disaster,  though  certainly  serious, 
will  kill  Galveston  as  a  shipping  port.  No  definite  reports  have 
been  received  as  to  the  extent  of  our  losses  there.  The  two  piers 
already  completed  on  the  property  of  the  Southern  Pacific  were 
certainly  badly  damaged.  Any  estimate  of  the  amount  of  damage 
would  be  only  a  guess,  but  I  should  say  that  it  would  fall  below 
$400,000.  Three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  had  been  spent 
on  the  piers,  and  $75,000  paid  for  a  short  line  from  Galveston  to 
Houston,  which  was  destroyed." 


140  HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE. 

Conceniing  the  suggestion  that  Galveston  will  not  be  rebuilt, 
but  that  another  city  will  be  established  in  a  safpr  place  on  the  Gulf, 
lo  bci  ve  as  a  shipping  port,  Mr.  Henry  Mallory,  of  the  Mallory  line 
of  steamships,  said : 

"  Texas  naturall}'  seeks  an  outlet  through  a  Texan  harbor,  and 
there  is  none  other  in  Texas  equal  to  the  harbor  of  Galveston.  All 
railroads  centre  there.  If  the  city  were  wiped  out  some  man  with 
money  would  begin  to  build  there.  Locally,  Galveston  has  suffered 
great  loss,  against  which  there  is  no  insurance.  But  that  does  not 
rob  the  city  of  its  pre-eminent  valve  as  a  port." 

Asked  if  it  would  be  practicable  to  rebuild  the  city  on  an  inner 
shore  of  Galveston  Bay,  Mr.  Mallory  said  that  it  would  not. 
"  There  is  no  better  location,"  said  he,  "  for  the  city.  It  is  not  our 
purpose  to  abandon  Galveston.  We  have  ten  steamships — nine  in 
commission  and  one  building — and  we  expect  to  remain  in  the 
Texas  service." 

A    CHANGE    FOR    THE    BETTER. 

A  correspondent,  under  date  of  September  the   14th,  wrote: 

"  So  far  as  the  actual  presence  of  death  is  concerned,  nobody 
would  know,  from  a  glance  at  the  streets  to-day,  that  a  terrible 
tragedy  had  been  enacted  here.  Human  corpses  are  out  of  sight. 
They  have  either  been  buried,  taken  out  to  sea  or  burned. 

"  But  the  horrors  have  not  been  obliterated  by  any  means. 
The  danger  of  pestilence  still  remains.  While  the  human  corpses 
have  been  disposed  of,  those  of  animals — horses,  cows,  dogs,  etc.— 
have  been  permitted  to  remain  above  ground.  There  was  no  time 
and  no  means  to  remove  them.  Their  putrifying  remains  laj/ 
where  the  waves  left  them — there  to  emit  a  stench  that  is  simpl;y 
unbearable. 

"  Lime  with  which  to  consume  these  carcasses  is  all  that  will 
save  Galveston  from  epidemic. 

"  With  corrupt  flesh  and  bad  water,  or  no  water  at  all,  Galves- 
ton is  already  in  the  grasp  of  typhoid  and  other  virulent  fevers. 
The  diseases  have  not  yet  become  epidemic,  but  if  unchecked  foi 
twenty-four  hours  there  is  no  doubt  they  will  become  so. 


HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVP.  141 

"  Appreciating  the  situation,  Adjutant-General  Scurry  yester- 
day succeeded  in  getting  gangs  of  laboring  men  organized.  The 
progress  made  is  remarkable  and  to-day  it  was  much  greater. 
Large  piles  of  refuse  were  gathered  and  burned,  and  the  work  of 
cleaning  up  proceeded  in  a  systematic  manner.  Heretofore  there 
has  been  no  system,  everybody  working  for  the  public  good  iu  his 
own  way. 

PEOPLE    HURRYING   TO    ESCAPE. 

"The  exodus  from  the  city  was  heavy  to-day,  and  hundreds 
more  were  eager  to  go  who  were  unable  to  secure  transportation. 
Along  the  bay  front  there  were  scores  of  families  with  dejected 
faces,  pleading  to  be  taken  from  the  stricken  city,  where,  in  spite 
of  every  effort  to  restore  confidence,  there  is  a  universal  feeling  of 
depression. 

"Shipping  men  say  to-day  that  the  damage  to  the  wharves  is 
by  no  means  as  serious  as  at  first  supposed.  More  hopeful  reports 
were  received  to-day  touching  the  water  supply.  The  company  is 
placing  men  all  along  the  mains,  plugging  the  broken  places  and 
thereby  assisting  the  flow.  It  was  serving  some  of  its  customers 
to-day,  and  hopes  gradually  to  increase  the  service.  The  water 
continues  to  ruu  by  gravity   pressure. 

"  The  only  difficulty  the  people  are  having  is  in  carrying 
supplies  to  their  homes  or  places  of  business.  The  ice  supply 
continues  bountiful,  and  at  many  corners  lemonade  is  being  served 
at  five  cents  for  as  many  glasses  as  you  can  drink  at  one  time. 

"  The  work  of  disposing  of  the  dead  continues.  Several  hun- 
dred bodies  are  still  buried  beneath  the  wreckage.  Thirty-two  sand 
mounds,  marked  with  small  boards,  attract  attention  on  the  beach, 
near  Twenty-sixth  street,  and  tell  the  story  of  where  seventy-five 
bodies  have  been  laid  to  rest.  In  the  extreme  western  part  of  the 
city  sixty  bodies  were  cremated  with  wreckage  of  the  homes  of  the 
unfortunate  victims. 

"  A  conflict  of  authority,  due  to  a  misunderstanding,  precipi- 
tated a  temporar}'  disorganization  of  the  policing  of  the  city  yes- 
terday.    It  seems  that  when  General  Scurry,  Adjutant-General  of 


142  HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAA^E. 

the  Texas  Volunteer  Guard,  arrived  in  the  city  with  about  200 
militia  from  Houston,  he  conferred  with  the  chief  of  police  as  to  the 
plans  for  preserving  law  and  order. 

"An  order  was  issued  by  the  chief  of  police  to  the  effect  that 
the  soldiers  should  arrest  all  persons  found  carrying  arms  unless 
they  showed  a  written  order,  signed  by  the  chief  of  police  or  Mayor, 
giving  them  permission  to  go  armed.  The  result  was  that  about 
fifty  citizens  wearing  deputy  sheriff  badges  were  arrested  by  the 
r>oldiers  and  taken  to  police  headquarters. 

FREE    USE    OF    DEADLY    WEAPONS. 

"  The  soldiers  had  no  way  of  knowing  by  what  authority  the 
men  were  acting  with  these  badges,  and  would  listen  to  no  excuses. 
After  a  hurried  conference  between  General  Scurry  and  Sheriff 
Thomas  it  was  decided  that  all  deputy  sheriffs  and  special  officers 
shall  be  permitted  to  carry  arms  and  pass  in  and  out  of  the  guard 
lines.  The  deputy  sheriffs  and  special  and  regular  police  now 
police  the  city  during  the  daytime,  and  the  militia  take  charge  of 
the  city  at  night. 

"  More  than  2000  dead  bodies  have  been  identified,  and  the 
estimate  of  Mayor  Jones,  that  5000  perished  in  Saturday's  great 
hurricane,  does  not  appear  to  be  magnified.  The  city  is  being 
patrolled  by  troops  and  a  citizens'  committee,  and  a  semblance  of 
order  is  appearing. 

"  At  a  conference  held  at  the  office  of  City  Plealth  Officei 
Wilkinson  it  was  decided  to  accept  the  offer  of  the  United  States 
Marine  Hospital  Service  and  establish  a  camp  at  Houston,  where 
the  destitute  and  sick  can  be  sent  and  be  properly  cared  for.  The 
physicians  agreed  that  there  were  many  indigent  sick  in  the  city 
who  should  be  removed  from  Galveston,  and  Houston  was  selected 
because  that  city  had  very  thoughtfully  suggested  the  idea  and 
tendered  a  site  for  the  camp.  Acting  upon  the  suggestion  to  estab- 
lish a  camp  and  care  for  the  sick  and  needy,  a  message  was  sent  to 
the  Surgeon-General,  at  the  head  of  the  Marine  Hospital  Corps, 
'■isking  for  1000  tents  of  four-berth  capacity  each  ;  also  several  hun- 
dred barrels  of  disinfecting  fluid. 


HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE.  143 

"  The  liealtli  department  is  calliug  for  lOO  meu  with  drays  to 
clean  the  streets.  The  plan  is  to  district  the  city  and  start  out 
the  drays  to  remove  all  refuse  and  dead  animals  and  cart  all  un- 
sanitary matter  from  the  streets.  It  is  anticipated  that  by  Saturday 
the  work  will  have  advanced  to  cover  the  greater  portion  of  the 
business  district  and  part  of  the  residence  section. 

"Prior  to  the  hurricane  Galveston  was  one  of  the  richest 
cities  in  the  world,  per  capita,  and  the  surviving  millionaries  who 
made  their  money  here  have  read  with  displeasure  the  telegrams 
that  the  city  would  never  survive  the  terrible  blow  it  suffered. 
They  insist  that  the  city  will  be  rebuilt  and  will  be  another 
Chicago,  rising  superior  to  the  calamities  that  palsy  the  ordinary 
people. 

"  The  determination  to  rebuild  the  city  received  a  strong  im- 
petus to-day,  when  it  v/as  learned  that  G.  W.  Boscheke,  assistant 
engineer  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  had  received  orders  by 
wire  from  New  York  to  prepare  plans  at  once  for  a  double-track 
steel  bridge  across  Galveston  Bay  ten  feet  higher  than  the  old  one, 
and  to  proceed  with  all  the  force  possible.  Engineers  are  already 
at  work  making  a  survey  and  running  lines  preparatory  to  the 
resumption  of  work. 

NEW    SURVEY    WILL    BE    MADE. 

"  A  telegram  from  New  York  says  that  Colonel  H.  M.  Roberts, 
of  the  Engineering  Corps,  United  States  Engineers  for  the  south- 
west district,  said  to-day  that  a  survey  will  be  made  of  the  wrecked 
Galveston  forts  and  works.  Captain  Richie  has  submitted  a  report, 
in  which  he  says  the  foundations  which  were  built  on  piling  with- 
stood the  ravages  of  the  storm  much  better  than  the  foundv 
tions  without  piling.  In  the  future  it  is  proposed  to  use  piling 
Exclusively. 

"  Congressman  R.  B.  Hawley,  who  was  in  Washington  at  the 
time  of  the  storm,  has  arrived  in  this  city. 

" '  Work  of  vast  importance  is  to  be  undertaken  here,'  said  he; 
'work  on  different  lines  from  that  which  has  been  our  habit 
heretofore. 


144  HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE. 

" '  There  are  storms  elsewliere.  If  the  people  iu  other  parts  of  the 
country  built  as  we  build,  their  cities  would  be  down  and  out  nearly 
every  year;  but  they  build  structures  to  stay,  and  we  must  rebuild 
our  city  on  different  lines  and  in  a  different  manner,  that  will  resist 
the  gales  as  they  do.  The  port  is  all  right.  The  fullest  depth  of 
water  remains.  The  jetties,  with  slight  repair,  are  intact,  and 
because  of  these  conditions  the  restoration  will  be  more  rapid  than 
may  be  thought.' 

MORTALITY    LIST    IS    ENORMOUS. 

In  fact,  while  the  mortality  list  of  the  city  grows  larger  every 
hour,  the  prospects  of  Galveston  grow  brighter.  An  investigation 
shows  that  industries  that  were  supposed  to  be  wrecked  forever  are 
only  slightly  damaged,  and  business  in  them  may  be  resumed  any 
day. 

"J.  C.  Stewart,  the  grain  elevator  builder,  after  careful  inspec- 
tion of  the  grain  elevators  and  their  contents,  said  the  damage  to 
the  grain  elevators  was  not  over  two  per  cent.  The  wheat  will  be 
loaded  into  vessels  just  as  rapidly  as  they  come  to  the  elevator  to 
take  it.  Ships  are  needed  here  at  once.  Mr.  Stewart  said  he 
would  put  a  large  force  of  men  to  work  clearing  up  each  of  the 
wharves,  and  the  company  will  be  ready  for  business  within  the 
the  next  eight  days.  The  wharves  have  been  damaged  very  little 
outside  of  the  wreckage  of  the  sheds.  With  the  wreckage  cleared 
away,  Galveston  will  be  in  good  shape  for  business. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  general  committee  last  night  the  need 
of  sprinkling  the  streets  with  a  strong  bichloride  solution  and 
taking  other  sanitary  precautions  was  discussed,  and  after  adjourn- 
ment of  the  general  committee,  the  committee  on  correspondence 
sent  the  following  telegram  : 

"  '  Our  most  urgent  present  needs  now  are  disinfectants,  lime, 
cement,  gasoline  stoves,  gasoline,  charcoal  furnaces  and  charcoal. 
Nearby  towns  also  may  send  bread.  For  the  remainder  of  our 
wants,  money  will  be  most  avilable,  because  we  can  make  purchases 
from  time  to  time  with  more  discretion  than  miscellaneous  con- 
tribul'ifs  would  exercise.    We  are  bringing  order  out  of    chaos, 


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M.     P.     MORRISSEY 

TRAFFIC  MANAGER   OF  THE  WILLIAM    PARR   &  CO.,   GENERAL  STEAMSH  P 

AGENTS,  WHO    FIRST    SUGGESTED    AND   CARRIED    INTO    EFFECT    THE 

BURIAL   OF   BODIES  AT   SEA   AND  THE    BURNING   OF  OTHER    BODIES 

ON    SHORE    TO    SAVE    THE    SURVIVORS    FROM     PESTI'  "FNCE 


FIRE     DEPARTMENT    TAKING     BODIES    TO    A     MORGUE 


BODIES    AMONG    RUINS-CHARACTERISTIC    SCENE    IN    GALVESTON 


WRECKED     RESIDENCES    CORNER    TWENTY-SEVENTH 
STREET     AND     AVENUE     M 


ReWOViNG    WRECKAGE    IN    «CARGH    OF    DEAD    BODIES 


HURRIED  TO  A  WATERY  GRAVE.  145 

and  again  offer  our  profound  gratitude  for  the  assistance  so  far 
received.' " 

Surveying  tlie  situation,  one  of  our  great  journals  bestowed 
these  words  of  praise  :  ''  Another  good  day's  work  was  done  yes- 
terday in  behalf  of  the  Texas  sufferers.  There  has  been  no  abate- 
ment in  the  generous  giving  of  supplies  and  money.  The  fearful 
plight  of  the  thousands  who  outlived  the  terrors  of  the  storm  has 
touched  every  heart  profoundly.  In  Galveston  alone,  where  fhe 
cyclone  swept  inland  with  fiercest  fury,  25,000  persons  are  home- 
less. Half  the  population  of  w^hat  a  week  ago  was  a  prosperous 
city,  in  a  single  day  was  left  dependent  upon  charity. 

DANGER    OF    AN    EPIDEMIC. 

"  The  danger  of  an  epidemic  now  threatens  the  survivors. 
Many  of  the  people  are  giving  way  to  physical  exhaustion.  They 
have  been  compelled  to  subsist  upon  unwholesome  food,  drink  pol- 
luted water  and  breathe  the  foul  air  of  their  unsanitary  surround- 
ings. In  spite  of  all  that  has  been  done  for  the  relief  of  the 
stricken  Texans,  the  death  roll  is  still  growing.  As  many  as  pos- 
sible must  be  removed  from  the  scene  of  destruction  to  more  health- 
ful conditions. 

"  What  Philadelphia  has  done  should  go  far  to  alleviate  the 
immediate  distress,  yet  this  is  only  a  drop  in  the  great  flow  of  char- 
ity. An  additional  $10,000  was  sent  to  Governor  Say  res  yesterday, 
making  $25,000  in  all  that  has  been  forwarded  by  the  Citizens'  Per- 
manent Relief  Committee.  And  more  subscriptions  are  daily  flow- 
ing in.  A  number  of  physicians  and  nurses  have  volunteered  their 
services  and  are  only  awaiting  a  reply  from  the  Relief  Committee 
on  the  ground.  There  will  be  work  for  them  if  sickness  becomes 
prevalent,  as  is  now  feared. 

"  Many  of  our  citizens  who  wished  to  make  donations  of  food, 

clothing  and   other  supplies  have  again  had  recourse  to  the  special 

trains  that  are  being  sent  forward.     Last  night  a  second  special  of 

four  heavily-laden  cars  was  sent  to  Galveston.     In  addition  to  this, 

many  subscriptions  of  money  have  been  made  and  will  be  forwarded 

to  the  authorities  in  Texas." 
10 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Fears  of  Pestilence — Searching   Parties  Clearing  Away  the 

Ruins  and  Cremating  the  Dead — Distracted  Crowds 

Waiting  to  Leave  the  City — Wonderful  Escapes. 

"  The  large  force  of  men  used  in  burying  and  cremating  the 
exposed  dead  scattered  throughout  the  city  are  trying  to  complete 
that  portion  of  their  work  and  are  searching  for  the  bodies  of  un- 
fortunates lying  crushed  beneath  the  mass  of  debris  and  wrecked 
buildings.  Where  the  debris  lies  in  detached  masses,  it  is  fired, 
and  the  bodies  therein  consumed. 

"When  adjacent  property  will  be  endangered  by  fire,  the 
mass  of  ruins  is  removed,  the  bodies  are  taken  out  and  conveyed 
to  a  safe  distance.  Around  them  is  piled  the  debris  and  the  whole 
is  saturated  with  oil  and  fired.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  identify 
the  bodies  as  they  are  in  all  stages  of  putrefaction. 

"  It  is  a  gruesome  and  sad  task.  Some  of  the  men  engaged 
in  this  work  are,  perhaps,  unknowingly  helping  to  destroy  all  that 
is  mortal  of  some  loved  one,  who,  a  few  days  before,  was  the  light 
of  his  home.  The  ghastly  pile  may  contain  the  body  of  his  wife, 
mother,  brother,  or  some  petted  child  ;  but  ''n  nearly  every  in- 
stance he  knows  it  not. 

"  One  pathetic  incident  occurred.  A  squad  of  men  discovered 
in  a  wrecked  building  five  bodies,  among  whom  one  of  the  party 
recognized  a  brother.  All  were  in  an  advanced  state  of  decompo- 
sition. They  were  all  removed  and  a  funeral  pyre  was  made. 
The  living  brother,  with  a  wrench  in  his  heart,  assisted,  and  with 
Spartan-like  firmness  stood  by  and  saw  his  brother's  body  reduced 
to  ashes. 

"The  appalling  loss  of  life  by  the  hurricane  has  benumbed 
the  people  and  virtually  dried  up  the  fountains  of  grief.  Neighbor 
meets  neighbor  and,  with  a  heart}^  grasp  of  the  hand,  says  "  I 
hope  all  is  well  with  you."  The  usual  reply  is,  "  I  am  sorry  to 
say  I  am  the  only  one  left." 

14G 


BURNING  THE   RUINS  AND  THE  DEAD.  l-^"^ 

*'  Yoli  hear  of  sucli  incidents  everywhere — on  the  street,  in 
the  stores,  aronnd  soda-fountains  where  crowds  collect  to  quench 
their  thirst,  since  water  is  scarce  and  the  saloons  are  closed  for  an 
indefinite  time. 

"  Burial  parties  are  organized  at  Virginia  Point,  Texas  City, 
Port  Bolivar  and  down  the  island,  and  the  bodies  there  are  being 
buried  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Since  something  like  order  has 
come  out  of  chaos  a  stop  has  been  put  to  the  looting  and  desecra- 
ition  of  bodies  at  Virginia  Point  by  the  bands  of  ghouls  that  had 
^terrorized  that  point,  and  they  have  been  dispersed. 

MONEY  CLINCHED  IN  DEATH  GRIP. 

"Where  the  bodies  are  beyond  identification  and  effects  and 
jewelry  are  found,  these  are  removed,  and  a  memoranda  taken  for 
possible  identification  at  some  time  by  any  one  who  is  seeking  a 
lost  relative  or  friend. 

"A  party  that  was  picking  up  bodies  for  burial  found  the 
corpse  of  a  nephew  of  Alderman  John  Wagner,  eighteen  years 
old,  lodged  in  the  forks  of  a  tall  cedar  tree,  two  miles  from  his 
wrecked  home.  Tightly  clinched  in  his  right  hand  was  $200, 
which  his  father  had  given  him,  with  two  twenty  dollar  gold 
pieces,  to  hold  while  the  father  attempted  to  close  a  door,  which 
had  blown  open. 

"  At  that  moment  the  house  went  down  and  the  whole  family 
except  the  father  perished  in  the  storm  and  flood.  It  would  take 
volumes  to  record  the  many  heartrending  incidents  of  this  sort 
and  the  heroism  displayed  during  the  fateful  night  of  Saturday. 

"The  loss  of  life  in  this  city  is  simply  appalling.  Ever}'- 
little  town  within  seventy-five  miles  of  Galveston  was  wrecked 
and  torn  and  people  were  killed  and  wounded.  The  damage  to 
property  will  aggregate  millions  of  dollars.  The  damage  to 
property  in  and  around  Alvin,  a  thriving  town  of  two  thousand 
people,  where  eleven  people  were  killed  and  a  number  wounded, 
is  estimated  at  $300,000,  and  they  send  out  an  urgent  appeal  for 
aid  and  relief  supplies." 

"  Captain  Talfor,  of  the  United  States  Engineer  Corps,  during 


148  BURNING   THE    RUINS   AND   THE   DEAD. 

tlie  hurricane  was  at  Qiiintana,  at  tlie  inoutli  of  tlie  Brazos  River, 
where  he  has  been  supervising  government  works.  He  stated  to- 
day that  the  barometer  fell  to  27.60,  and  the  v/ind  velocity  was  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  an  hour.  Fifty-four  houses  were 
wrecked  in  Quintana,  and  the  debris  piled  up  in  the  streets.  For- 
tunately no  lives  were  lost. 

"The  town  of  Velasco,  three  miles  above,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  was  completely  wrecked.  Nine  persons  were  killed, 
three  in  the  hotel,  which  was  badly  demolished.  Angleton,  the 
county  seat,  of  Brazoria,  ten  miles  north  of  Velasco,  was  almost 
completely  destroyed.  Several  lives  were  lost  and  a  number  of 
persons  wf:re  badly  injured. 

"  The  property  loss  in  these  three  towns  and  the  country 
adjacent  will  be  beyond  the  ability  of  the  people  to  repair.  Des- 
titution stares  them  in  the  face,  and  help  is  urgently  needed  there 
and  in  ill  other  towns  within  seventy-five  miles  of  the  city.  The 
loss  in  proportion  to  population  and  means  is  just  as  great  and  as 
keenly  felt  as  the  loss  and  destruction  in  Galveston,  and  they 
should  not  be  forgotten  by  the  generous  public,  which  is  respond- 
ing wvth  such  noble  promptness  to  Galveston's  cry  for  help. 

SOLID    TRAINLOADS    OF  SUPPLIES. 

''Supplies  for  the  relief  of  Galveston's  sufferers  are  coming 
in  from  every  quarter  as  rapidly  as  the  limited  means  of  trans- 
portation here  will  admit.  Solid  trainloads  from  the  North  and 
East  are  speeding  towards  Galveston  as  fast  as  steam  will  bring 
them,  while  cities,  chambers  of  commerce  and  other  commercial 
bodies  in  this  country,  England  and  Continental  Europe  are  sub- 
scribing thousands  of  dollars  for  the  sufferers  from  one  of  the 
greatest  calamities  of  the  century. 

"The  distribution  of  supplies  here  has  not  yet  been  put  on  a\ 
systematic  basis.  There  is  one  general  relief  committee,  with 
sub-committees  in  each  ward.  To  these  sub-committeemen 
sufferers  must  apply  for  relief,  and  are  categorically  questioned 
as  to  the  extent  of  their  distress. 

"If  the  answers   are  satisfactory,  an   order  is  issued  for  sup- 


BURNING  THE    RUINS   AND   THE   DEAD.  ^40 

plies.  If  lie  is  an  able  bodied  man,  althougli  he  ma}^  be  bonse- 
less  and  may  have  lost  members  of  his  family,  or  have  some 
injured  by  the  storm  and  needing  attention,  he  must  perform 
labor  before  supplies  are  issued,  and  if  he  refuses  he  is  impressed 
and  compelled  to  work. 

"There  are  many  so  sadly  injured  or  prostrated  b}^  the 
'frightful  experience  they  have  recently  undergone  that  they  are 
unable  to  appl}^  for  relief,  and  would  suffer  from  thirst  and 
exposure  unless  housed,  fed  and  cared  for  by  humane  people  who 
have  been  less  unfortunate.  No  effort  thus  far  has  been  made  by 
those  in  charge  of  relief  affairs  to  hunt  out  these  poor  creatures 
and  care  for  them. 

"  And  if  they  have  male  relatives,  these  are  afraid  to  venture 

on  the  streets  for  fear  they  will   be  impressed  and  put  to  work, 

and  thus  taken  away  from  those  who  need  their  constant  care. 

The  present  method  of  relief  needs  to  be  radically  revised,  or  it 

will    fail    of    its    purpose    and   defeat   the    object   of  those    who 

are  so  generously  contributing.     Medical   relief  is   much  better 

organized. 

EXODUS  SERIOUSLY  HAMPERED. 

"The  Transportation  Committee  is  handicapped  in  its  efforts 
to  get  out  of  the  city  the  persons  who  are  destitute  by  the  lack  of 
sufiicient  boats  and  rail  communication.  The  latter  want  will  not 
be  supplied  for  many  days.  Present  communication  is  by  boat  to 
Texas  City,  and  then  by  the  Galveston,  Houston  and  Henderson 
Railway  to  Houston.  Those  who  are  able  to  pay  are  charged 
half  fare ;  those  who  are  not  are  given  free  transportation. 
Guards  are  stationed  at  Texas  City  to  prevent  the  curious  from 
invading  the  city,  eating  up  the  limited  food  supply  and  doing  no 
good. 

"  The  city  in  its  present  condition  is  not  a  healthy  place  for 
visitors.  It  is  full  of  fever  and  other  disease  breeding  matter, 
and  smells  like  a  charnel  house.  There  is  not  a  house  of  any 
character  in  the  cit}^  but  is  foul  and  ill  smelling.  Plent}'- of  lime- 
water  and  disinfectant  is  urgently  needed  here,  or  an  epidemic 
will  sweep  through  the  city  with  hurricane  force. 


150  BURNING  THE  RUINS  AND  THE  DEAD.  '       * 

"Thousands  of  men  are  cutting  passageways  tlirougli  the 
streets,  clearing  the  sidewalks  of  the  mass  of  debris,  removing 
the  sea  slime  from  the  floors  of  buildings  and  washing  them  out, 
but  this  does  not  dispose  of  it,  and  under  the  torrid  sun  it  fer- 
ments and  putrefies  and  the  stench  is  fearful. 

"The  water  failed  to  materialize  as  promised  and  this  aggra- 
vates the  situation.  With  a  crippled  fire  department,  the  fire 
engines  useless  and  no  water  supply,  a  fire,  if  it  should  break 
out,  would  speedily  wipe  out  what  remains  of  the  city. 

"  It  will  be  months  before  the  business  streets  will  be  entirely 
cleared  of  rubbish  and  repaved,  and  it  will  be  years  before  the 
damage  done  by  the  storm  will  be  obliterated.  It  is  impossible 
to  conceive  of  the  widespread  destruction  unless  it  is   actually 


seen." 


ANOTHER    REPORT    FROM    GENERAL   McKIBBEN. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Friday. — General  McKibben  on  Septem- 
ber 12,  reported  to  the  War  Department  upon  the  conditions  in 
Galveston  as  follows: — 

"  General  conditions  are  improving  every  hour.  Repairs  to 
water  works  will  by  to-morrow  insure  water  supply  for  fire  protec- 
tion. Provisions  of  all  kinds  are  being  received  in  large  quant- 
ities. Enough  are  now  en  route  and  at  Houston  to  feed  all  desti- 
tute for  thirty  days. 

"There  is  now  no  danger  of  suffering  from  lack  of  food  or 
shelter.  City  under  perfect  control,  under  charge  of  Committee 
of  Safety.  Loss  of  life  is  probably  greater  than  my  conservative 
estimate  of  yesterday.  Property  loss  enormous;  not  an  individual 
in  the  city  has  escaped  some  loss ;  in  thousands  of  cases  it  is 
total. 

"To-day,  in  company  with  Colonel  Robert  and  Captain 
Riche,  I  made  an  inspection  at  Fort  Crockett,  and  by  tug  of  the 
fortifications  at  Forts  San  Jacinto  and  Travis;  with  the  exception 
of  battery  for  two  4.7  rapid  fire  guns,  batteries  may  be  considered 
non-existent.  Captain  Riche  has  forwarded  by  wire  this  evening 
full  report  of  conditions  to  Chief  of  Engineers. 


BURNING  THE  RUlNS  AND  THE  DEAD.  151 

*' I  coincide  in  recommendation  that  all  fortifications  and 
ordnance  property  be  transferred  to  engineer  officer  here  for  sal- 
vage. Earnestly  recommend  that  Battery  O,  First  Artiller}^,  be 
ordered  to  Fort  Sam  Houston  for  recuperation  and  equipment; 
officers  and  men  are  largely  destitute.  At  present  a  large  num- 
ber are  injured  and  unfit  for  duty.  Impossible  at  present  to^ 
furnish  them  with  ordinary  camp  equipage,  clothing,  as  all  trans- 
portation facilities  are  being  utilized  to  bring  in  food  supplies." 

CAPTAIN   RICHE'S  REPORT. 

"Chief  of  Engineers,  Army,  Washington,  D.  C: 

"jetties  sunk  nearly  to  mean  low  tide  level,  but  not  seriously 
breached.  Channel  at  least  as  good  as  before  ;  perhaps  better. 
Twenty- five  feet  certainly.  Forts  as  follows :  Fort  Crockett — Two 
15-pounder  emplacements,  concrete  all  right,  standing  on  piling 
water  underneath.  Battery  for  eight  mortars  about  like  preced- 
ing.    Mortars  and  carriages  on  hand  unmounted. 

"  Battery  for  two  lo-inch  guns  about  like  preceding,  both 
guns  mounted  and  in  good  shape.  Shore  line  at  Fort  Crockett 
has  moved  back  about  six  hundred  feet.  Fort  San  Jacinto — Bat- 
tery for  eight  12-inch  mortars  badly  wrecked,  magazines  reported 
fallen  in  ;  mortars  reported  safe.  No  piling  was  under  this  bat- 
tery; some  of  the  sand  parapet  left  Battery  for  two  lo-inch 
guns  badly  wrecked.  Central  portion  level,  both  gun  platforms 
down,  guns  leaning.     No  piling  was  under  this  battery. 

"Battery  for  two  4.7-inch  rapid  fire  guns,  concrete  standing 
upon  piling ;  both  guns  apparently  all  right.  Battery  for  two 
15-pounder  guns,  concrete  apparently  all  right,  standing  upon 
piling. 

"  Fort  San  Jacinto  batteries  could  not  be  reached  b}^  land  ; 
inspection  was  from  a  distance.  Sand  around  these  batteries 
seemed  pretty  well  leveled  off  to  about  two  to  three  feet  above 
mean  low.  Torpedo  casemate,  nothing  but  concrete  left  and  badly 
wrecked.  Concrete  portion  of  cable  tank  left  ;  cable  in  it  probably 
safe.     Part  of  coal  wharf  still  standing. 

"  Everything  else  in  vicinity  gone.     Some  of  the  mine  cases 


J52  BURNING  THE  RUINS  AND  THE  DEAD. 

are  down  the  beacli  as  far  as  Fort  Crockett.  Fort  Travis — Bat- 
tery for  three  fifteen-pound  guns,  concrete  intact,  standing  on 
piling,  water  underneath.  Battery  for  two  eight-inch  guns,  con- 
crete intact,  except  eastern  emplacement,  which  has  cracked  off; 
eastern  gun  down  and  twenty  feet  from  battery  ;  western  one  all 
right  ;  concrete  standing  on  piling,  water  underneath  middle  of 
battery.     These  batteries  were  inspected  from  the  channel. 

*'  The  shore  line  has  moved  back  about  one  thousand  feet, 
about  on  the  line  of  the  rear  of  these  batteries.  All  buildings 
and  other  structures  gone.  Inspection  was  made  with  General 
McKibben.  Recommendation  was  made  that  all  fortifications  and 
property  be  transferred  to  the  Engineer  Department  ;  that  for  the 
present  batteries  be  considered  non-existent,  so  that  future  work 
may  be  chargeable  as  original  construction. 

"  Much  ordnance  can  be  saved  if  given  prompt  attention. 
Unless  otherwise  instructed,  I  will  take  charge  of  these  works  at 
once  and  save  all  possible.  New  projects  for  jetties  and  forts 
cannot  be  submitted  for  several  weeks,  until  definite  detailed  infor- 
mation is  had.  Further  recommendations  will  then  be  submitted 
as  soon  as  possible.  Galveston  is  still  a  deep  water  port,  and  such 
a  storm  is  not  likely  to  reoccur  for  years." 

ESTIMATES    OF    THE    DEAD    ARE    TOO    LOW. 

Austin,  Tex.,  Sept.  14 — "  I  am  thoroughly  satisfied,  after 
spending  two  days  in  Galveston,  that  the  estimate  of  6000  dead  is 
too  conservative.  It  will  exceed  that  number.  Nobody  can  even 
estimate  or  will  ever  know  within  1000  of  how  many  lives  were 
lost." 

This  was  the  opinion  of  Assistant  State  Plealth  Officer  I.  J. 
Jones,  who  arrived  at  Austin  directly  from  Galveston,  where  he 
was  sent  by  Governor  Sayres  to  investigate  the  condition  of  the 
State  quarantine  station.  Dr.  Jones  made  an  inspection  of  the 
sanitary  condition   of  the  city,   and  in  his   report   said  further  : 

"  It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  I  reached  Galveston. 
At  the  quarantine  situated  in  the  Gulf,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
the   wharves,   I  found  thingsl  in    a    state  of  ruin.      The  quar- 


BITrNING  the  ruins  and  the  dead.         ■'  15,3 

! 

antine  warehouse  and  disinfecting  barge,  just  completed,  are  total 

wrecks,  as  is  also  the  quarantine  wharf.     A  part  of  the  quarantine 

residence   is  left   standing,    but    so   badl}^   damaged  that  it  is  not 

worth  repairing. 

AN    OFFICER'S    BRAVERY. 

"  Quarantine  Officer  Mayfield  showed  the  greatest  bravery 
and  self-sacrifice  when  the  storm  came  on.  He  sent  all  of  his 
employees  and  his  family,  except  two  sons,  who  refused  to  leave 
him,  to  places  of  safety.  He  remained  in  the  quarantine  house 
with  his  two  devoted  sons  throughout  the  terrible  night.  All  of 
one  wing  of  the  house  was  taken  away  and  the  floor  of  the 
remaining  part  was  forced  up  and  carried  away  by  the  waters. 
Dr.  Mayfield  and  his  two  sons  spent  the  night  on  a  stairway  lead- 
ing from  the  upper  floor  to  the  attic. 

"  Despite  this  destruction  of  the  station,  the  quarantine  has 
oever  been  relaxed,  and  all  vessels  are  promptly  boarded  upon 
arrival  at  Galveston.  There  are  now  three  vessels  lying  at  quar- 
antine. They  brought  cargoes  to  be  discharged  at  Galveston  and 
had  cargoes  consigned  to  them.  The  cargoes  cannot  be  taken  ofi" 
except  by  lighter,  and  the  vessels  are  awaiting  instructions  from 
their  owners.  The  Mallory  Line  Steamer  "  Alamo"  got  in  Wed- 
nesday, but  was  sent  back  to  the  bay,  as  she  could  not  discharge 
her  cargo. 

"The  sanitary  condition  of  the  city  is  very  bad.  While  there 
has  been  no  outbreak  of  sickness,  every  one  expects  that,  and 
it  is  inevitable.  There  is  no  organized  effort  being  made  to 
improve  sanitary  conditions.  Large  quantities  of  lime  have  been 
ordered  to  the  place,  but  I  doubt  if  anyone  will  be  found  to 
unload  it  from  the  vessels  and  attend  to  its  systematic  distribu- 
tion when  it  arrives. 

"The  stench  is  almost  unbearable.  It  arises  from  piles  of 
debris  containing  the  carcasses  of  human  beings  and  animals. 
These  carcasses  are  being  burned  where  such  can  be  done  with 
safety.  But  little  of  the  wreckage  can  be  destroyed  in  this  man- 
ner, however,  owing  to  the  danger  of  starting  a  fire  that  will 
destroy  what  is  left  of  the  ill-fated  city.     There  is  no  water  pro- 


154  BURNING   THE   RUINS   AND   THE   DEAD. 

tection    aud   should  fire  break  out  the  destruction    of   the  city 
would  soon  be  complete. 

"When  searching  parties  come  across  a  human  body  it  is 
hauled  out  into  an  open  space  and  wreckage  piled  over  it.  The 
pyre  is  then  set  on  fire  and  the  body  slowly  consumed.  The  odor 
from  these  burning  bodies  is  horrible.  ; 

"The  chairman  of  the  Central  Relief  Committee  at  Gal-' 
veston  asked  me  to  make  the  announcement  that  the  city  wants 
all  the  skilled  mechanics  and  contractors  with  their  tools  that  can 
be  brought  to  Galveston.  There  is  some  repair  work  now  going 
on  but  it  is  impossible  to  find  men  who  will  work  at  that  kind  of 
business.  Those  now  in  Galveston  who  are  not  engaged  in  relief 
work  have  their  own  private  business  to  look  after  and  mechanics 
are  not  to  be  had. 

"  All  mechanics  will  be  paid  regular  wages  and  will  be  given 

employment  by  private   parties  who  desire  to  get  their  wrecked 

homes  in  habitable  shape  as  rapidly  as  possible.    There  are  many 

fine  houses  which  have  only  the  roof  gone.     These  residences  are 

finely  furnished,  and  it  is  desired  that  the  necessary  repairs  be 

made  quickly. 

WELL   ORGANIZED. 

"  The  relief  work  is  fairly  well  organized.  Nothing  has  been 
accomplished,  except  the  distribution  of  food  among  the  needy, 
and  some  attempt  at  clothing  them.  I  found  no  one  who  was 
hungry  or  thirsty.  About  one-half  of  the  city  is  totally  wrecked, 
and  many  people  are  living  in  houses  that  are  badly  wrecked. 
The  houses  that  are  only  slightly  injured  are  full  of  people  who 
are  being  well  cared  for.  The  destitute  are  bring  removed  from 
the  city  as  rapidly  as  possible.  It  will  take  vtiree  or  four  days 
yet  before  all  who  want  to  go  have  been  removed  from  the  island 
city.  A  remarkably  large  number  of  horses  survived  the  storm, 
but  there  is  no  feed  for  them,  and  many  of  them  will  soon  die  of 
starvation. 

"  In  the  city  the  dead  bodies  are  being  disposed  of  in  every 
manner  possible.  They  are  burying  the  dead  found  on  the  main- 
land.    At  one  place  250  bodies  were  found  and  buried  ou  Wednes- 


BURNING  THE   RUINS  AND  THE   DEAD.  155 

^ay.  There  must  be  hundreds  of  dead  bodies  back  on  the  prairies 
that  have  not  been  found.  It  is  impossible  to  make  a  search  there 
on  account  of  the  debris.  There  will  be  many  a  skeleton  of  vic- 
vims  of  the  disaster  found  on  the  prairie  in  the  months  and  years 
to  come. 

"  Bodies  have  been  found  as  far  back  from  the  present  main- 
land shore  of  the  bay  as  seven  miles.  That  embraces  a  big  terri- 
tory which  is  covered  with  rank  grass,  holes  filled  with  water  and 
piles  of  debris.    It  would  take  an  army  to  search  this  territory  on 

the  mainland. 

THE    GULF    FULL    OF    BODIES. 

"  The  waters  of  the  Gulf  and  bay  are  still  full  of  bodies,  and 
they  are  being  constantly  cast  upon  the  beach.  On  my  trip  to 
and  from  the  quarantine  station  I  passed  a  procession  of  bodies 
going  seaward.  I  counted  fourteen  of  them  on  my  trip  from  the 
station,  and  this  procession  is  kept  up  day  and  night.  The  cap- 
tain of  a  ship  who  had  just  reached  quarantine  informed  me  that 
he  began  to  meet  floating  bodies  fifty  miles  from  the  port. 

"As  an  illustration  of  how  high  the  water  got  in  the  Gulf,  a 
vessel  which  was  in  port  tried  to  get  into  the  open  sea  when  the 
storm  came  on.  It  got  out  some  distance  and  had  to  put  back. 
It  was  dark  and  all  the  landmarks  had  been  obliterated.  The  course 
of  the  vessel  could  not  be  determined,  and  she  was  being  furiously 
driven  in  toward  the  island  by  the  wind.  Before  her  course  could 
be  established  she  had  actually  run  over  the  top  of  the  north  jetty. 
As  the  vessel  draws  twent3''-five  feet  of  water  some  idea  can  be  ob- 
tained as  to  the  height  of  the  water  in  the  Gulf" 

They  marry  and  are  given  in  marriage.  A  wedding  tooK 
place  in  Galveston.  It  occurred  at  the  Tremont  Hotel.  Ernest  A. 
Mayo,  a  lawyer,  and  a  candidate  for  Prosecuting  Attorney,  was 
the  bridegroom.  Mrs.  Bessie  Roberts  was  the  bride.  The  engage- 
ment was  of  long  standing.  Both  suffered  much  from  the. 
storm.  They  decided  that  it  was  better  to  cast  their  fortunes , 
together.  Friends  approved.  The  ceremony  took  place  on 
Thursday,  the   13  th,   five  days  after  the  flood. 

Governor  Sayres  was  advised  on  the  fourteenth  that  a  gov- 


156  BURNING   THE   RUINS   AND   THE   DEAD. 

ernment  vessel,  which  Avas  loaded  with  supplies  at  Texas  City  foi 
the  Galveston  sufferers,  went  aground  shortly  after  leaving  the 
wharf,  and  had  not  3^et  been  gotten  off.  It  was  found  that  vessels 
could  not  cross  the  bay  at  that  point,  and  thereafter  they  would 
be  sent  to  some  other  point  which  had  a  deeper  channel  connec- 
tion with  Galveston. 

The  estimates  of  immediate  losses  in  the  aggregate  vary 
widely.  It  may  be  said  that  none  of  them  arc  below  $20,000,000. 
The  maximum,  as  given  by  intelligent  residents,  including  some 
members  of  the  Citizens'  Committee,  is  $35,000,000.  One  of  the 
Galveston  business  men  sent  to  Austin  to  confer  personally  with 
Governor  Sayres  on  the  work  of  relief^,  inclined  to  the  belief  that 
the  immediate  losses  might,  without  exaggeration,  be  placed  at 
$35,000,000. 

In  the  indirect  class  are  the  losses  which  must  be  sustained 
through  the  paralysis  of  business,  the  reduction  of  population,  the 
stoppage  of  industries,  and  the  general  disturbance  of  commercial 
relations,  and  Galveston  business  men  hesitate  to  form  an}'  con- 
clusion as  to  what  the  moral  losses  must  be. 

A  REFUGEE'S  TALE  OF  HORROR. 

F.  B.  Campbell,  who  was  in  Galveston  when  the  floods  swept 
upon  it,  was  one  of  the  first  refugees  to  reach  the  North.  He 
passed  through  Pittsburg,  six  da3^s  after  the  disaster,  on  his  way 
to  Springfield,  Mass.,  which  is  his  home.  Mr.  Campbell  had  his 
right  arm  fractured.  William  E.  Frear,  a  Philadelphia  commer- 
cial traveller,  who  was  with  Campbell  in  Galveston,  accompanied 
him  as  far  north  as  Cincinnati,  and  went  home  on  the  express. 
Frear' s  right  ankle  was  sprained. 

Campbell  was  a  cotton  broker  and  was  overwhelmed  at  his 
'boarding  house  while  at  dinner.  He  reached  a  heap  of  wreckage 
by  swimming  through  an  alley.  Of  the  scene  when  he  left, 
Campbell  said  : 

"  The  last  I  saw  of  Galveston  was  a  row  of  submerged  build- 
ings where  a  thriving  city  stood.  A  waste  of  water  spread  in  all 
directions.     In  the  sea  were  piles  of  wreckage  and  the  carcasses  ot 


BURNINv,  THE   RUINS  AND  THE   DEAD.  1&" 

animals  and  the  bodies  of  hundreds  of  human  beings.  The  salt 
marshes  presented  an  indescribable  sight.  Nude  forms  of  human 
beings,  that  had  been  swept  across  the  bay  were  scattered  every^ 
where.  No  man  could  count  them  without  going  insane.  It 
looked  like  a  graveyard,  where  all  the  tenants  of  the  tombs  had 
been  exhumed  and  the  corpses  thrown  to  the  winds." 

SOME  WONDERFUL  ESCAPES. 

There  were  many  wonderful  incidents  of  the  great  storm. 
In  the  infirmary  at  Houston  was  a  boy  whose  name  is  Rutter.  He 
was  found  on  Monday  morning  lying  beside  a  truck  on  the  land 
near  the  town  of  Hitchcock,  which  is  twenty  miles  to  the  north- 
ward of  Galveston.  This  boy  is  only  12  years  old.  His  story  is 
that  his  father,  mother  and  two  children  remained  in  the  house. 
There  was  a  crash  and  the  house  went  to  pieces.  The  boy  says 
that  he  caught  hold  of  a  trunk  when  he  found  himself  in  the  water 
and  floated  off  with  it.  He  thinks  the  others  were  drowned.  With 
the  trunk  the  boy  floated.  He  had  no  idea  of  where  it  took  him, 
but  when  daylight  came  he  was  across  the  bay  and  out  upon  the 
still  partially  submerged  mainland. 

When  their  home  went  to  pieces  the  Stubbs  family,  husband, 
wife  and  two  children,  climbed  upon  the  roof  of  a  house  floating 
by.  They  felt  tolerably  secure,  when,  without  warning,  the  roof 
parted  in  two  places.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stubbs  were  separated  and 
each  carried  a  child.  The  parts  of  the  raft  went  different  ways  in 
the  darkness.  One  of  the  children  fell  off  and  disappeared,  and 
not  until  some  time  Sunday  was  the  family  reunited.  Even  the 
child  was  saved,  having  caught  a  table  and  clung  to  it  until  it 
reached  a  place  of  safety. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  escapes  recorded  during  the 
flood  was  reported  to-day  when  news  came  that  a  United  States 
battery  man  on  duty  at  the  forts  last  week  had  been  picked  up  on 
Morgan's  Point,  injured  but  alive.  He  had  buffeted  the  waves  for 
five  days  and  lived  through  a  terrible  experience.  Morgan's  Point 
is  thirty  miles  from  Galveston. 

Galveston,    Tex.,    Sept.    14.-  The    local    Board   of  Health, 


158  BURNING  THE   RUINS  AND  THE   DEAD.  "    - 

fhroiigli  Dr.  H.  A.  West,  its  secretary,  lias  made  a  demand  tliat 
the  work  of  clearing  up  the  dwelling  houses  be  turned  over  to 
physicians.  This  work  has  been  under  the  direction  of  Adj  u- 
t.ant  General  Scurry,  and  he  has  proved  himself  so  capable  that 
the  Relief  Committee  declined  to  make  any  division  of  respon- 
sibility. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  number  of  boats  carrying 
passengers  between  Texas  City  and  Galveston  has  been  largely 
increased,  it  was  impossible  yesterday  to  leave  the  city  after  the 
early  morning  hours.  Yesterday  the  "  Lawrence,"  after  jamming 
her  nose  into  the  mud,  remained  aground  all  day.  Her  pas- 
sengers were  taken  off  in  small  sailboats,  and  by  noon  a  dozen  of 
them  heavily  loaded  started  from  Galveston  to  Texas  City. 

INTENSE  SUFFERING  ON  THE  WATER. 

The  wind  died  away  utterl}^  and  the  boats  could  neither  go 
on  to  Texas  City  nor  return  to  Galveston.  None  of  them  had 
more  than  a  meager  supply  of  water,  which  was  soon  exhausted ; 
the  sun  beat  down  with  a  merciless  severity.  In  a  short  time 
babies  and  young  children  became  ill  and  in  many  instances  their 
mothers  were  also  prostrated.  There  was  absolutely  no  relief  to 
be  had,  as  the  tugs  of  Galveston  Bay,  which  might  have  given 
the  sloops  tow,  are  all  made  for  deep  sea  work  and  draw  too  much 
water  to  allow  of  their  crossing  the  shallow  channel. 

Hour  after  hour  the  people  on  the  boats,  all  of  which 
were  densely  packed,  were  compelled  to  broil  in  the  torturing 
and  blinding  sun.  A  slight  breeze  arising  in  the  evening  at  9 
o'clock,  the  sailing  craft  w^hich  had  left  Galveston  at  noon  began  to 
dump  their  passengers  iipon  the  beach  at  Texas  City.  Owing  to 
a  delay  in  Houston  trains  it  was  fully  twenty  hours  after  their 
start  from  Galveston  that  the  people  who  left  there  yesterday 
noon  were  able  to  move  out  from  Texas  City,  which  is  only  eight 
miles  away,  and  by  the  time  the  train  had  made  a  start  for  Hous- 
ton every  woman  in  the  crowd  was  ill  through  lack  of  food,  expo- 
sure and  insufficient  sleep. 

In  the  long  list  of  the  dead  of  Galveston  the   family  name  of 


BURNING  THE   RUINS  AND  THE   DEAD.  150 

Labett  appears  several  times.     Only  a  year  or  two  ago  five  gene- 
rations of  tlie  Labetts  were  living  at  one  time  in  Galveston. 

The  family  nearly  suffered  the  destruction  of  the  family 
name  in  the  storm.  A  young  man  connected  with  one  of  the  rail- 
roads was  down  town  and  escaped.  When  the  parties  of  searchers 
.were  organized  and  proceeded  to  various  parts  of  the  city  one  of 
them  came  across  this  young  Labett  near  the  ruins  of  his  home 
all  alone.  He  had  made  his  way  there  and  had  found  the  bodies  of 
father  and  mother  and  other  relatives.  He  had  carried  the  dead  to 
a  drift  of  sand,  and  there  without  a  tool,  with  his  bare  hands  and 
a  piece  of  board  he  was  trying  to  scrape   out  gravel  to  bury  the 

bodies. 

GALVESTON  REFUGEES  AT  HOUSTON. 

The  "Post"  of  Houston  prints  a  list  of  2701  names  of  GaK 
veston  dead,  compiled  from  various  sources,  but  believed  to  be 
authentic.  There  are  many  bodies  still  in  the  ruins  of  Galveston 
and  scattered  along  the  beach  of  the  mainland  and  in  the  marshes. 

About  1300  people  arrived  here  from  Galveston  on  the  13th. 
Four  buildings  have  been  set  apart  for  the  benefit  of  refugees,  but 
of  the  3500  who  have  reached  here  so  far  not  more  than  800  remain 
in  the  public  charge,  the  remainder  of  them  going  to  the  homes 
of  relatives  and  friends. 

MESSAGES    FOR   THE    DEAD. 

The  following  statement  was  made  on  Friday,  the  14th  ;  it 
was  dated  at  Dallas  : 

"  Galveston  is  no  longer  shut  off  from  wire  communication 
with  the  outside  world.  At  1.15  o'clock  this  afternoon  the  Postal 
Telegraph  and  Cable  Company  received  a  bulletin  from  the 
storm-stricken  city  stating  that  wire  connection  had  been  made 
.  across  the  bay  by  cable,  and  that  direct  communication  with  the 
island  city  was  resumed  with  two  wires  working  and  that  two 
more  would  be  ready  by  to-morrow.  A  rush  of  messages  fol- 
lowed. 

"  The  Western  Union  got  in  direct  communication  with  Gal- 
veston this   afternoon,   and    soon    that    office    was    also    crowded. 


160  BURNING  THE   RUINS  AND  THE   DEAD. 

Pro^iably  never  before  lias  there  been  so  much  telegraphing  to 
tbfc  dead.  The  headquarters  of  the  Western  Union  and  Postal 
systems  located  in  this  city  report  that  in  Dallas,  Houston  and 
Galveston  are  thousands  of  messages  addressed  to  persons  who 
can  never  call  for  them  or  receive  them. 

'  Some  of  the  person*)  addressed  are  known  to  be  dead,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  Itundreds  of  others  are  among  the  thou- 
sands of  unknown  and  unidentified  victims  of  the  storm  whose 
bodies  have  been  dumped  into  the  sea,  consigned  to  unmarked 
graves  or  cremated  in  the  great  heaps  that  sanitary  necessity 
marked  for  the  to-rch  and  the  incinerating  pyre. 

"  The  insurance  questions  are  beginning  to  receive  serious 
attention.  Life  insurance  companies  are  going  to  be  hit  very 
hard.  Tie  question  that  particularly  engages  the  attention  of 
representatives  is  whether  settlement  shall  be  made  without  liti- 
gation. The  general  southwestern  agents  for  eight  big  insurance 
companies  were  interviewed  to-day,  and  they  stated  that  all  Dallas 
insurance  men  concur  in  the  opinion  that  the  insurance  policies 
against  storm  losses  carried  by  Galvestonians  will  not  aggregate 
$10,000,000.  They  say  there  was  absolutely  no  demand  fo"  such 
insurance  at  Galveston." 

^A^HOLE  FAMILY  KILLED  BY  STORM. 

Among  those  who  were  caught  in  the  storm  that  devastated 
Galveston  on  Sunday  night  were  six  persons  who  comprised  the 
family  of  Peter  E.  McKenna,  a  former  resident  of  Philadelphia. 
According  to  news  received  by  their  relatives  in  that  city,  all 
perished. 

When  word  of  the  Texas  disaster  first  came  it  was  reported 
'that  the  entire  family  had  been  lost,  but  it  later  developed  that  a 
married  daughter,  who  lives  in  Omaha,  Neb.,  was  not  visiting  her 
parents,  as  was  first  supposed,  and  therefore  escaped  the  death 
that  overtook  her  relatives. 

Peter  E.  McKenna,  the  head  of  the  family,  was  well  known 
in  Philadelphia  during  his  youth.  His  father  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  in  the  religious  press.     The  son  followed  the  profession 


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BURNING   THE   RUINS   AND   THE   DEAD. 


161 


of  his  father,  and  after  engaging  in  the  publication  of  newspapers 
and  religious  weeklies  until  1862  he  sought  fortune  in  the 
West. 

Galveston  at  the  time  was  a  growing  city,  and  as  it  offered 
the  opportunities  Mr.  McKenna  desired  he  settled  there  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  upbuilding  of  newspapers.  His  success  was 
of  such  a  nature  that  he  made  his  permanent  home  in  Galveston, 
and  during  the  thirty-eight  years  that  have  passed,  was  recognized 
as  one  of  the  most  foremost  journalists  in  that  city.  Latterl}^  he 
was  connected  with  the  Galveston  "  Despatch  "  and  also  conducted^ 
a  publishing  house  for  himseK 

Separated  as  he  was  by  thousands  of  miles  from  the  city  of 
his  birth,  Mr.  McKenna  was  able  to  make  only  a  few  visits  during 
the  last  twenty-five  years,  but  he  k«^nt  up  a  constant  correspond- 
ence with  several  relatives.  In  these  letters  there  was  frequent 
mention  of  the  fact  that  the  city  was  lower  than  the  sea  and  open 
to  the  attacks   of  any   storm    that   might  form   in  the  Gulf  of 

Mexico. 

CLEARING    THE    WATER    FRONT. 

At  a  conference  held  at  the  office  of  the  City  Health  Officer 
on  Frida}',  the  14th,  it  was  decided  to  accept  the  offer  of  the  Marine 
Hospital  Service,  and  establish  a  camp  at  Houston,  where  the 
destitute  and  invalids  can  be  sent.  The  physicians  agreed  that 
there  were  many  indigent  persons  in  the  city  who  should  be 
removed.  A  message  was  sent  to  the  Surgeon  General  asking 
that  the  department  furnish  one  thousand  tents,  of  four-berth 
capacity  each  ;  also  seven  hundred  barrels  of  disinfecting  fluid. 

Another  important  movement  in  the  direction  of  sanitation 

was  made  by  the  Health  Department  in  calling  for  one  hundred 

men  with  drays  to  clean  the  streets.     The  idea  is  to  district  the 

eity  and  start  the  drays  to  remove  all  unsanitary  matter  from  the 

streets 

STRANGE  BURIAL  PLACES  AND  GRAVES. 

Although  the  work  of  disposing  of  the  dead  is  being  pushed, 

several  hundred  bodies  are   still  buried  beneath   the  wreckage. 

Thirty-two    sand   mounds     ^i risked   with    small   boards,    attract 
u 


1(52  fiURNiNG   THE   RUINS  ANt)   THK   DEAD.  • 

attention  on   the  beacli,  near  Twenty-sixtli  street,   and  tell   the 
story  of  where  about  seventy-five  bodies  have  been  buried. 

One  of  the  greatest  needs  of  the  city  now  is  disinfectants. 
The  local  Committee  on  Correspondence  drafted  this  general 
message  to  the  country  : 

"  Our  most  urgent  present  needs  now  are  disinfectants, 
(lime,  cement,  gasoline  stoves,  gasoline,  charcoal  furnaces,  and 
charcoal.  Nearby  towns  also  may  send  bread.  For  the  remain- 
der of  our  wants  money  will  be  most  available  because  we  can 
make  purchases  from  time  to  time  with  more  discretion  than  mis- 
cellaneous contributors  would  exercise.  We  are  bringing  order 
out  of  chaos  and  again  offer  our  profound  gratitude  for  the  assist- 
ance so  far  received." 

The  first  real  attempt  to  clear  away  the  great  mass  of  debris 
piled  along  the  beach  front  for  several  miles  was  begun  to-day. 
Advertisements  this  morning  asking  for  hundreds  of  men  and 
boys  were  answered  by  a  multitude.  It  is  hoped  Ihat  a  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  work  will  lead  to  the  early  recovery  of  the  bod- 
ies in  the  debris.    That  there  are  mauy  of  them  there  is  no  shadow 

of  doubt. 

SEEKING  FORMER  RESIDENCES. 

A  correspondent  walked  along  the  beach  for  some  distance 
to-d=:y  and  the  stench  was  sickening.  Everywhere  little  groups 
of  men,  women  and  children,  some  poorly  clad,  were  digging  in 
the  ruins  of  their  homes  for  what  little  household  property  they 
could  save.  In  many  cases,  those  seeking  their  former  residences 
were  unable  to  find  a  single  remnant  of  them. 

The  exodus  from  the  city  was  heavy  to-day,  and  hundreds 
more  were  eager  to  leave,  but  were  unable  to  secure  transporta- 
tion. Along  the  bay  front  there  were  scores  of  families  wath 
dejected  faces,  pleading  to  be  taken  from  the  stricken  city,  where, 
in  spite  of  every  effort  to  restore  confidence,  there  is  much  depres- 
sion. 

J.  C.  Stewart,  a  builder,  after  a  careful  inspection  of  the 
grain  elevators  and  their  contents,  said  the  damage  to  the  ele- 
vators was  not  over  two  per  cent.     Mr.  Bailey  said  he  would  put 


BURNING   THE    RUINS   AND   THE   DEAD.  163 

a  large  force  of  men  to  work  clearing  np  each  of  the  wharves, 
and  the  compan}^  will  be  ready  for  business  within  eight  days. 
The  wharves  have  been  damaged  very  little  outside  of  the  wreck- 
age of  the  sheds.  With  the  wreckage  cleared  away  Galveston 
will  be  in  shape  for  beginning  business. 

SOUTHERN  PACIFIC  WILL  REBUILD. 

To  a  journal  in  New  York  the  "  Galveston  News  "  sent  the 
following  important  statement : 

"You  ask  the  'News'  what  is  our  estimate  of  Galveston's 
future  and  what  the  prospects  are  for  building  up  the  city.  Briefly 
stated,  the  '  News  '  believes  that  inside  of  two  years  there  will  exist 
upon  the  island  of  Galveston  a  city  three  times  greater  than  the 
one  that  has  just  been  partially  destroyed.  The  devastation  has 
been  great  and  the  loss  of  life  terrible,  but  there  is  a  hopefulness 
at  the  very  time  this  answer  is  being  penned  you  that  is  surpris- 
ing to  those  who  witness  it.  That  is  not  a  practical  answer  to 
your  inquiries,  however. 

"The  principal  feature  is  this — The  Southern  Pacific  com- 
pany has  ordered  a  steel  bridge  built  across  the  bay  ten  feet 
higher  than  the  trestlework  on  the  late  bridges.  The  company 
has  ordered  also  a  doubling  up  of  forces  to  continue  and  improve 
their  wharves,  and  with  this  note  of  encouragement  from  the 
great  enterprise  upon  which  so  much  depends  the  whole  situation 

is  cleared  up. 

AN  EXCELLENT   PORT. 

"  Our  wharves  will  be  rebuilt,  the  sanitary  condition  of  the 
city  will  be  perfected  ;  streets  will  be  laid  with  material  superior 
to  that  destroyed,  new  vigor  and  life  will  enter  the  community 
with  the  work  of  construction,  and  the  products  of  the  twenty-one 
States  and  Territories  contiguous  will  pour  through  the  port  of 
Galveston. 

"We  have  now,  through  the  action  of  this  storm,  with  all  its 
devastation,  thirty  feet  of  water  on  the  bar,  making  this  port  the 
equal,  if  not  the  superior,  of  all  others  on  the  American  seaboard. 
The  island  has  stood  the  wrack   f  f  the  greatest  storm  convulsion 


164  BURNING   THE   RUINS   AND   THE    DEAD. 

known  in  the  history  of  any  latitude,  and  there  is  no  longer  a 
question  of  the  stability  of  the  island's  fouudation.  If  a  wind 
velocity  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  an  hour  and  a  water 
volume  of  fifteen  feet  in  some  places  upon  the  island  did  not 
have  the  effect  of  washing  it  away,  then  there  is  no  wash  to  it. 

''  Galveston  island  is  still  here,  and  here  to  stay,  and  it  will 
be  made  in  a  short  time  the  most  beautiful  and  progressive  city 
in  the  Southwest.  This  may  be  esteemed  simply  a  hopeful  view, 
but  the  conditions  existing  warrant  acceptance  of  the  view  to  the 
fullest  extent. 

"The  'News'  will  not  deal  with  what  is  needed  from  a  gen- 
erous public  to  the  thousands  of  suffering  people  now  left  with  us. 
The  dead  are  at  rest.  There  are  twenty  thousand  homeless  peo- 
ple here,  whose  necessities  at  this  time  are  great  indeed.  Assist- 
ance is  needed  for  them  in  the  immediate  future.  The  great 
works  of  material  and  industrial  energy  will  take  care  of  them- 
selves by  the  attraction  here  presented  for  the  profitable  employ- 
ment of  capital.  We  were  dazed  for  a  day  or  two,  but  there  is  no 
gloom  here  now  as  to  the   future.     Business  has   already  been 

resumed." 

PLAN  TO  PROTECT  GALVESTON. 

Can  the  city  of  Galveston,  almost  obliterated  by  the  xecent 
storm,  be  protected  from  all  future  assaults  by  the  Gulf? 

Colonel  Henry  M.  Robert,  United  States  Corps  of  Engineers, 
and  divisional  engineer  of  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts,  who  is 
stationed  here  at  present,  says  that  Galveston  can  be  absolutely 
protected  from  every  storm  by  a  sea  wall  built  along  the  Gulf 
front. 

Colonel  Robert,  during  the  late  spring,  while  on  a  visit  to 
Galveston,  suggested  a  comprehensive  plan  for  the  improvemen> 
of  that  harbor,  which  was  hailed  by  the  city  and  State  as  solviu;^ 
the  problem  of  the  creation  of  a  great  port  in  Galveston  Bay. 
This  plan  would  also  auord  a  great  measure  of  protection  to  the 
cit}^  from  inundation  on  its  northern  and  southwestern  sides 
should  a  strong  wind  from  the  Gulf  pile  up  the  water  on  the 
shallow  floors  of  Galveston  and  West  bays. 

t 


BURNING   THE   RUINS   AND    THE    DEAD.  165 

Colonel  Robert's  plan  contemplates  the  construction  of  a  great 
basin  for  harbor  purposes,  as  well  as  for  dry  docks,  to  the  north- 
west  of  the  city.  The  basin  would  be  formed  by  a  retaining  wall 
shutting  out  Galveston  and  West  bays,  and  by  filling  in  the  parts 
of  the  Gulf  floor  between  this  retaining  wall  and  the  walls  or 
shores  of  the  basin. 

The  northern  retaining  wall  would  follow  generally  the  line 
of  the  south  jetty,  and  a  deep  water  channel  of  twenty-five  to 
thirty  feet  would  be  left  between  the  new  land  and  the  city  of 
Galveston,  connecting  the  channel  formed  by  the  jetties  with  the 
inner  basin.  Pelican  Island  would  be  the  backbone  of  the  made 
land,  and  all  of  Pelican  Flats  would  be  transformed  into  solid  land, 
to  be  used  for  railway  and  docking  purposes. 

THE  PROJECT  ^VAS  APPROVED. 

Tie  plan  also  involved  the  extension  of  the  jetty  channel 
through  Galveston  Bay  and  up  Buffalo  Bayou  as  far  as  Houston, 
more  than  sixty  miles  distant,  making  the  latter  city  an  open  sea- 
port. Railways  would  have,  by  means  of  the  filled-in  land,  ready 
access  to  the  city,  and,  in  addition,  the  port  facilities  of  Galveston 
would  be  many  times  increased,  and  a  continuous  sea  channel  be 
constructed  from  the  Gulf  to  Houston. 

This  project,  as  outlined  by  Colonel  Robert,  received  the 
unqualified  approval  of  the  various  interests  concerned  in  the 
development  of  Galveston  harbor,  and  steps  had  been  taken  to 
carry  out  the  plan  before  the  onslaught  of  the  recent  storm  swept 
away  water  lines  and  much  of  the  city  itself.  Colonel  Robert  now 
^proposes  an  additional  plan,  simple  and  inexpensive,  for  affording 
the  fullest  and  most  complete  measure  of  protection  from  all 
storms.  This  new  plan  is  to  construct  a  sea  wall  along  the  Gulf 
front  of  the  city. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  height  of  the  waves  in  the  recent 
storm,  which  was  the  severest  ever  experienced  on  the  Texas 
coast,  was  about  ten  to  twelve  feet.  Colonel  Robert  suggests 
that  a  wall  at  least  twelve  feet  above  the  beach,  and  running 
the  entire  length  of  the  water  front,  or  about  ten  miles,  be  built 


166  BURNING   THE   RUINS   AND   THE    DEAD. 

immediately  to  barricade  the  city  from  tlie  Gulf.  A  lieiglit  of 
twelve  feet  above  tlie  beach  would  give  fourteen  feet  above  the 
water,  aud  would,  Colonel  Robert  thinks,  afford  ample  protection. 

COST   OF  THE  SEA  WALL. 

As  to  the  expense  of  such  a  structure,  it  is  thought  by  engi- 
neers that  a  liberal  estimate  would  be  about  $1,500,000  per  mile. 
This  wall,  as  projected  by  Colonel  Robert,  would  extend  from  a 
point  on  the  south  jetty,  where  the  latter  crosses  the  Gulf  front 
of  the  city,  and  would  follow  the  line  of  the  beach,  two  or  three 
feet  above  the  water  level,  until  it  reached  the  southwestern  limit 
of  the  island,  in  the  shallow  M^ater  of  West  Bay.  At  the  latter 
point  the  danger  from  storms  is  not  serious. 

At  present  the  depth  of  water  between  the  jetties  is  263^  feet, 
and  it  is  thought  that  it  will  soon  be  thirty  feet.  The  average  depth 
of  the  original  channel  across  the  twenty-five  miles  of  Galveston 
Bay  is  about  twelve  feet.  It  is  proposed  by  Colonel  Robert's  plan 
to  increase  this  to  at  least  twenty-five  feet.  An  additional  and 
supplementary  plan  is  to  extend  the  improvement,  so  as  to  create 
a  system  of  coast  channels  that  will  transform  Galveston  into  a 
central  port  with  a  labyrinth  of  waterways. 

EXTENSIVE    HARBOR    IMPROVEMENT. 

The  magnitude  of  the  plan  for  the  improvement  of  the  har- 
bor of  Galveston  may  be  imagined  when  it  is  observed  that  the 
inner  basin,  or  harbor,  is  to  be  about  five  miles  long  by  three 
broad,  that  it  may  be  approached  by  a  deep  water  channel  accommo- 
dating ocean  going  vessels  of  the  deepest  draught.  The  outlet 
into  West  Bay  will  not  be  so  deep,  as  the  bay  itself  is  navigable 
by  light  draught  vessels  only.  The  new  land,  formed  on  the  basis 
of  Pelican  Island  and  flats  will  be  about  four  miles  square. 

Colonel  Robert  said  that  a  survey  will  be  made  at  once  of  the 
wrecked  forts  aud  other  military  works  at  Galveston.  A  report 
received  from  that  place  sa3^s  that  those  portions  of  the  works 
erected  upon  piling  withstood  the  storm.  It  is  proposed  to  use 
piling  entirely  for  similar  works  in  the  future. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

StOiy  of  a  Brave  Hero — A  Vast  Army  of  Helpless  Victims- - 

Scenes  that  Shock  the   Beholders — Our  Nation 

Rises  to  the  Occasion. 

T  THEN  Galveston's  chapter  of  horrors  had  reached  its  crisis,- 
JLiL  when  the  people  were  dazed,  leaderless  and  almost  helpless, 
so  that  they  M^ent  about  bewildered  and  did  little  more  than 
gather  a  few  hundred  of  the  bodies  which  were  in  their  way,  a  long- 
shoreman became  the  hero  of  the  hour.  It  was  not  until  Monday 
that  the  brave  leaders,  who  are  usually  not  discovered  in  a  commu- 
nity until  some  great  emergency  arises,  began  to  forge  in  front. 
They  were  not  men  from  one  rank  in  point  of  wealth  or  intelli- 
gence.    They  came  from  all  classes. 

For  example,  there  was  Hughes,  the  longshoreman.  Bodies 
which  lay  exposed  in  the  streets,  and  which  had  to  be  removed 
somewhere  lest  they  be  stepped  on,  were  carried  into  a  temporary 
morgue  until  500  lay  in  rows  on  the  floor. 

A  VERY  GRAVE  PROBLEM. 

Then  a  problem  in  mortality  such  as  no  other  American  com- 
munity  ever  faced  was  presented.  Pestilence,  which  stalked  forth 
by  Monday,  seemed  about  to  take  possession  of  what  the  storm  had 
left.  Immediate  disposition  of  those  bodies  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  save  the  living. 

Then  it  was  that  Lowe  and  McVittie  and  Sealy  and  the  others, 
who  by  common  impulse  had  come  together  to  deal  with  the  prob- 
lem, found  Hughes.  The  longshoreman  took  up  the  most  grue- 
some task  ever  seen,  except  on  a  battlefield.  He  had  to  have  help-, 
ers.  Some  volunteered ;  others  were  pressed  into  the  service  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet. 

Whisky  by  the  bucketful  was  carried  to  these  men,  and  they 
were  drenched  with  it.  The  stimulant  was  kept  at  hand  and  ap- 
plied continuously.  Only  in  this  way  was  it  possible  for  the  stout- 
est-hearted to  work  in  such  surroundings. 

I(i7 


168  VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS. 

Under  the  direction  of  Hughes  these  hundreds  of  bodies  al- 
ready collected  and  others  brought  from  the  central  part  of  the 
city — those  which  were  quickest  found — were  loaded  on  an  ocean 
barge  and  taken  far  off  into  the  gulf  to  be  cast  into  the  sea. 

There  were  38,000  people  in  the  city  when  the  census  was 
taken  a  few  weeks  before  the  flood.  After  a  careful  survey  of  the 
desolate  field  since  the  storm  and  flood  have  wrought  their  sad 
havoc,  the  conclusion  is  forced  that  there  were  in  Galveston  25,000 
people,  or  thereabouts,  who  had  to  be  fed  and  clothed.  The  propor- 
tion of  thosewhowere  in  fair  circumstances  andlost  all  is  astonishing. 

Relief  cannot  be  limited  to  those  who  formed  the  poorer  class 
before  the  storm.  An  intelligent  man  left  Galveston,  taking  his 
wife  and  child  to  relatives.  He  said  :  "A  week  ago  I  had  a  good 
home  and  a  business  which  paid  me  between  $400  and  $500  a  month. 
To-day  I  have  nothing.  My  house  was  swept  away  and  my  busi- 
ness is  gone.  I  see  no  way  of  re-establishing  it  in  the  near  future." 
This  man  had  a  real  estate  and  house  renting  agency. 

STRIPPED  OF  ALL  THEIR  POSSESSIONS. 

At  the  military  headquarters  one  of  the  principal  oSicials  do- 
ing temporary  service  for  this  city  said  :  "  Before  the  storm  I  had 
a  good  home  and  good  income.  I  felt  rich.  My  house  is  gone  and 
my  business.  The  fact  is  I  don't  even  own  the  clothes  I  stand  be- 
fore you  in.     I  borrowed  them." 

Now  these  are  not  exceptional  cases.  They  are  fairly  typical. 
They  must  be  fed  and  clothed,  these  25,000  people,  until  they  can 
work  out  their  temporal  salvation. 

x\nd  then  something  ought  to  be  done  to  help  the  worthy  get 
,  )n  their  feet  and  make  a  fresh  start.  Some  people  will  leave  Gal- 
'  veston.  It  is  plain,  however,  that  nothing  like  the  number  expected 
will  go.  Galveston  is  still  home  to  the  great  majority.  Those  who 
can  stay  and  live  there  will  do  so.  If  the  country  responds  to  the 
needs  in  anything  like  the  measure  given  to  Johnstown,  Chicago, 
Charlestowu  and  other  stricken  cities  and  sections,  Galveston  as  a 
community  will  not  only  be  restored,  but  will  enter  upon  a  greater 
future  than  was  expected  before  the  storm. 


VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS.  16& 

Since  Tuesday  there  has  been  no  doubt  of  Galveston's  res- 
toration. From  a  central  organization  the  relief  work  was  divided 
by  wards.  A  depot  and  a  sub-committee  were  established  in  each 
ward  of  the  city. 

"  They  who  will  not  work  shall  not  eat,"  was  the  principle 
adopted  when  the  organization  was  perfected.  Few  idle  mouths 
are  being  fed  in  Galveston.  There  are,  however,  the  fatherless,  and 
there  are  widows,  and  there  are  sick  who  must  have  charity.  But 
the  able-bodied  are  working  in  parties  under  the  direction  of  bosses. 
They  are  being  paid  in  food  and  clothing.  In  this  way  the  Relief 
Committee  is  within  the  first  week  meeting  the  needs  of  the  sur- 
vivors, and  at  the  same  time  is  gradually  clearing  the  streets  and 
burning  the  ruins  and  refuse. 

PICTURES   IN    SHARP   CONTRAST. 

Of  Galveston's  population  of  38,000  it  is  estimated  that  8000 
were  killed. 

The  area  of  total  destruction  was  about  1300  acres. 

There  were  5000  dwellings,  hotels,  churches  and  convents 
utterly  destroyed. 

More  than  2000  bodies  have  been  burned. 

The  property  loss  is  not  less  than  $15,000,000. 

One  hundred  and  twenty-five  men,  most  of  them  negroes,  were 
shot  to  death  for  robbing  the  dead.  "  Decimation  "  is  the  word 
often  employed  to  emphasize  destruction  of  life.  Galveston  was 
"  decimated  "  twice  over  by  this  storm. 

It  took  on  the  part  of  the  public-spirited  men  a  good  deal  of 
boldness  to  lay  down  the  law  that  the  support  tendered  by  the 
country  must  be  earned  and  to  enforce  it.  But  before  two  days  had 
passed  the  whole  community  was  at  work  cheerfully.  A  tour 
through  the  city,  up  one  street  and  down  another,  showed  the 
greatest  activity.  Thousands  and  not  hundreds  of  men  were  drag- 
ging the  ruins  into  great  heaps  and  applying  the  torch.  Occa- 
sionall}^  they  came  on  the  remains  of  human  beings  and  hastily 
added  them  to  the  blazing  heaps.  But  it  is  notable  that  much  less 
is  said  now  about  the  dead  than  during  the  early  days.    The  minds 


170  VAST  ARlVii    OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS. 

of  the  people  wlio  survived  have  passed  from  that  phase  of  the 
calamity. 

A  soldier  standing  guard  at  a  place  on  the  beach  where  these 
fires  were  burning  thickly  was  asked  if  the  workers  were  still  find- 
ing bodies. 

"Yes,''  he  replied,  "a  good  many!"  That  was  all.  Three 
days  ago  the  same  soldier  would  have  gone  into  particulars.  He 
would  have  told  how  many  had  been  found  in  this  place  and  in 
that. 

The  commander  of  one  of  these  squads  came  into  head- 
quarters to  deliver  a  report  to  Colonel  McCaleb.  He  had  nothing 
to  say  about  bodies,  but  wanted  to  tell  that  a  trunk  in  fairly  good 
condition,  with  valuable  contents,  had  been  taken  out  of  one  heap, 
and  that  the  owner  might  be  found  through  marks  of  identification 
which  he  had  noted.  So  it  goes  ;  the  thought  is  of  the  living 
rather  than  of  the  dead. 

SIGNS  OF  RESTORATION  EVERYWHERE. 

The  women  of  Galveston  are  working  as  never  before.  Where- 
ever  one  goes  carpets  and  clothing  and  mattresses  and  rugs  are 
hung  on  fences  and  galleries.  The  scrubbing-brushes  are  going, 
A  smell  of  carbolic  acid  is  in  the  air.  The  housekeepers  are  bust- 
ling in  and  out.  Every  residence  that  can  be  called  habitable  is 
undergoing  renovation  most  thoroughly.  The  sound  of  the  ham- 
mer is  heard  everywhere.  Amateur  carpenters  are  patching  and 
strengthening  homes  which,  in  the  better  spirit  that  prevails,  they 
may  now  hope  to  save. 

One  of  the  strongest  impressions  that  is  gained  of  the  work 
of  restoration  is  from  the  sights  in  front  of  the  stores.  Merchants 
and  clerks  are  overhauling  stocks.  Where  the  articles  are  such 
that  it  can  be  done  they  are  carried  out  in  front  of  the  stores  and 
spread  in  the  sun  to  dry.  Tons  of  dry  goods,  clothing,  hats  and 
caps,  boots  and  shoes  are  spread  in  the  streets  and  on  the  pave- 
ments, so  that  in  places  it  is  difScult  to  get  past. 

In  these  stores  the  watermarks  on  the  walls  and  shelves  varies 
from  waist  to  shoulder  high.     Everything  below  these  levels  was 


VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS.  171 

saturated.  The  loss  of  stocks  affected  by  water  is  very  great.  But 
the  disposition  of  the  storekeepers  to  make  the  '.jest  of  it  and  to 
save  something,  even  if  badly  damaged,  is  cheering. 

Full  of  confidence  and  even  optimistic  are  the  expressions  of 
the  men  who  have  taken  the  lead  in  this  crisis.   Said  Colonel  Lowe, 
of  the  Galveston  News  :  "  In  two  years  this  town  will  be  rebuilt 
upon  a  scale  which  we  would  not  have  obtained  so  quickly  without 
this  devastation. 

"  I  took  it  for  granted  that  when  the  Southern  Pacific  manage- 
ment said  to  its  representatives,  as  it  has  said :  ^  Build  a  bridge  ten 
feet  higher  than  the  old  one  and  put  on  a  double  force  to  do  it,'  our 
future  was  assured.  We  shall  go  forward  and  create  the  city.  We 
shall  have  some  restrictions  as  to  rebuilding  lines,  especially  on 
the  beach  side,  where  the  greatest  losses  were  sustained.  The  ram- 
shackle way  in  which  too  much  construction  has  been  done  hereto- 
Icre  will  be  of  the  past." 

SAVING  VAST  GRAIN  STORES. 

If  any  one  had  predicted  on  Sunday  or  Monday  that  on  Friday 
and  Saturday  Galveston  would  be  doing  business  at  the  old  stand, 
he  would  have  been  laughed  to  scorn.  What  the  grain  men  are 
planning  very  fairly  tells  the  story.  It  applies  to  all  lines  of  busi- 
ness. The  storm  caught  2,500,000  bushels  of  wheat  in  cars  and 
elevators.  Superstructures  of  the  elevators  were  carried  away,  and 
in  other  ways  the  immense  buildings  were  somewhat  damaged. 
These  indefatigable  people  six  days  later  are  perfecting  their 
arrangements  to  save  that  grain  and  export  it.  Robinson,  the  in- 
spector, said : 

"  Without  more  rain  for  a  few  days,  say  six  or  eight,  we  shall 
begin  loading  that  wheat  on  ships  for  export.  Don't  you  believe 
anything  you  hear  about  permanent  damages  to  Galveston  as  the 
result  of  the  storm. 

"  We  have  got  the  grandest  harbor  here.  Why,  our  channel 
instead  of  being  filled  by  the  storm  carrying  sand  into  it  was 
scoured  two  feet  deeper  than  it  was  before.  We  had  then  twenty- 
eight  to  tweuty-nine  feet  of  water.      We  have  now  thirty  feet. 


172  VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS. 

"  Noue  of  tlie  dauger  of  sickness  that  was  feared  has  shown 
itself.  We  are  getting  rid  of  the  wreckage,  and  we  are  scattering 
car  loads  of  lime  and  other  disinfectants  everywhere.  I  believe  all 
danger  is  passed.  Talk  about  Galveston  giving  up !"  continued 
Mr.  Robinson,  "This  great  wharf  property  is  worth  $18,000,000. 
•  It  sustained  a  loss  of  less  than  $500,000. 

"  The  company  has  1000  men  at  work  on  the  repairs.  It 
stared  eternity  in  the  face  Saturday  night,  and  was  ready  to  go. 
To-day  I  have  got  more  energy  and  ambition  than  I  ever  had.  I 
don't  know  where  I  got  it.  I  guess  God  gave  it  to  me.  Come 
back  in  sixty  days,  and  you  will  not  know  Galveston,  remembering 
it  as  you  see  it  to-day." 

TERRIBLE    EXPERIENCES    OF   A    YOUNG    GIRL. 

Miss  Maud  Hall,  who  was  spending  her  school  vacation  in 
Galveston,  and  who  passed  through  the  storm,  has  written  of  her 
experience  to  her  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Emory  Hall,  of  Dallas. 
Miss  Hall  was  in  the  house  where  she  was  boarding  at  the  time  the 
storm  came.     She  says  : 

"  The  wind  and  rain  rose  to  a  furious  whirlwind,  and  all  the 
time  the  water  crept  higher  and  higher.  We  all  crowded  into  the 
hall,  and  the  house,  a  big  two-story  one,  rocked  like  a  cradle. 
About  6  o'clock  the  roof  was  gone,  all  the  blinds  torn  off  and  all 
the  windows  blown  in.  Glass  was  flying  in  all  directions  and  the 
water  had  risen  to  a  level  with  the  gallery.  Then  the  men  told  us 
we  would  have  to  go  to  a  house  across  the  street. 

"It  took  two  men  to  each  woman  to  get  her  across  the  street 
and  down  to  the  end  of  the  block.  Trees  thicker  than  any  in  ou^ 
yard  were  whirled  down  the  street  and  the  water  looked  like  a 
whirlpool.  I  came  near  drowning  with  another  girl.  It  was  dark 
by  this  time,  and  the  men  put  their  arms  around  us  and  down  into^ 
the  water  we  went. 

"  I  spent  the  night — such  a  horrible  one ! — wet  from  my 
shoulders  to  my  waist  and  from  my  knees  down,  and  barefoot. 
Nobody  had  any  shoes  and  stockings.  The  house  was  packed 
with  people  just  like  us.     The  windows  were  blown  out,  and  it 


VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS.  I73 

rocked  from  top  to  bottom,  and  the  water  came  into  the  first  floor. 
About  3  o'clock  ill  the  morning  the  wind  had  changed  and  blew 
the  water  back  into  the  Gulf. 

"  As  soon  as  we  could  we  waded  home.  Such  a  home  !  The 
water  had  risen  three  feet  in  the  house,  and  the  roof  being  gone  the 
rain  poured  in.  We  had  not  had  anything  to  eat  since  noon  the 
day  before,  and  we  lived  on  whisky. 

"  It  was  awful.  Dead  animals  every  where  and  the  streets 
filled  with  fallen  telegraph  poles  and  brick  stores  blown  over. 
Hundreds  of  women  and  childien  and  men  sitting  on  steps  cryini^ 
lost  ones,  and  nearly  half  of  them  injured!  Wild-eyed,  ghastly- 
looking  men  hurried  by  and  told  of  whole  families  killed.  All  day 
wagon  after  wagon  passed  filled  with  dead,  most  of  them  without  a 
thing  on  them,  and  men  with  stretchers  with  dead  bodies  with  just 
a  sheet  thrown  over  them,  some  of  them  little  children." 

HOPING    FOR    THE    BEST. 

Says  an  eye-witness  of   the  terrible  scene  : 

"  What  a  contrast !  Last  Sunday,  gloom,  desolation  and  black 
despair  prevailed.  This  storm-tossed  city  was  filled  with  desola- 
tion. The  sorrow  of  the  survivors  for  the  dead  was  unspeakable, 
the  destruction  of  property  indescribable,  the  people  were  palsied, 
and  in  the  gloom  of  devastation  and  death  there  was  no  silver 
li  ling  to  the  pall  that  darkly  overshadowed  them.  To-day  hope 
and  determination  buoy  up  the  people. 

"They  realize  that  the  task  before  them  is  titanic  yet,  with  the 
generous  aid  that  is  floating  to  them  from  all  parts  of  the  civilized 
world,  born  of  a  common  humanity,  that  makes  the  whole  world 
akin,  aided  by  their  own  indomitable  purpose,  the  sick  and  wounded 
will  be  healed,  the  destitute  relieved  and  the  recuperation  of  Gal- 
veston will  be  speedy  and  lasting.  It  is  the  spirit  that  turns  defeat , 
into  victory,  makes  a  people  strong,  glorious  and  prosperous.  You ' 
hear  no  complaining,  no  expression  of  want  of  confidence,  but  of 
hope,  zeal  and  determination,  and  this  is  exemplified  by  th«  vigor- 
ous enterprise  visible  on  every  hand. 

"  Although  it  is  the  Sabbath,  work  is  being  pushed  under  a 


174  VAST  ARMY  OF  HET.PLESS  VICTIMS. 

systematic  plan  of  operation  that  is  rapidl}^  bringing  order  ont  of 
chaos.  The  search  and  burial  or  cremation  of  the  unfortunate 
victims  within  the  corporation  limits  of  the  city  are  being  rapidly 
prosecuted  by  a  large  force  in  squads  under  military  directiou. 
Down  the  island  and  on  the  mainland  the  work  of  interring  tl,e 
dead  is  conducted  with  the  same  system. 

"As  new  conditions  constantly  develop,  the  cleaning  up  a!;d 
disinfecting  the  streets,  stores  and  buildings  go  bravely  on,  and  tbe 
sanitary  condition  of  the  down  portion  of  the  town  has  been 
greatly  improved,  and  Mayor  Jones  stated  to-day  that  there  would 
be  no  let-up  in  the  work  until  the  entire  city  was  cleaned  and  dis- 
infected. Dry  goods  stores  and  clothing  houses  resemble  grei.t 
laundries,  and  every  available  space  is  occupied  with  goods  hun^ 
out  to  dr}^  Fortunately  the  weather  is  clear,  hot  and  dry  for  this 
purpose.  Those  merchants  whose  stocks  were  but  slightly  dam 
aged  have  done  a  rushing  business,  and  so  have  the  restaurants 
whose  stocks  are  very  limited  and  fretsh  meats  difficult  to  obtain. 

EXTORTION    A    RARE    EXCEPTION. 

"Extortion  is  a  rare  exception,  although  the  supply  of  food  M 
hotels  and  restaurants  is  limited.  This  will  be  overcome  in  a  few 
days,  since  all  the  railways  terminating  here  have  united  u|)on  one 
bridge  and  are  pushing  the  work  night  and  da}^  with  a  large  force 
reconstructing  it,  while  their  tracks  are  being  restored  on  the  island 
and  mainland  by  large  forces,  which  it  is  confidently  asserted  will 
give  this  stricken  city  rail  communication  by  Wednesday  next. 

^'If  this  is  done  it  will  relieve  the  existing  situation  wondei- 
full}'.  All  supplies  are  now  brought  in  by  boat,  and  these,  beings 
principall}^  for  the  sick  and  absolutely  destitute,  are  being  distrib 
uted  with  dispatch.  The  injured  and  sick,  under  the  thorough 
system  inaugurated  by  the  Board  of  Health  and  local  physicianSj 
aided  by  volunteers  from  the  outside,  are  receiving  every  care  and 
attention,  and  are  doing  as  well  as  could  be  under  the  circum- 
stances, which  are  being  improved  daily. 

"  All  churches  in  the  cit}^,  cither  being  wrecked  or  ruined, 
with  but  one  or  two  exceptions-  divine  services  were  in  most  cases 


VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS.  175 

suspended.  Alass  was  celebrated  at  St.  Mary's  Cathedral  this 
morning  and  was  largely  attended.  Father  Kirwin  preached  a 
feeling  sermon,  at  which  he  spoke  of  the  awfnl  calamity  that  had 
befallen  the  people.  After  expressing  sympathy  for  the  afflicted 
and  distressed,  he  advised  not  to  lose  confidence,  for  back  of  them 
:he  hnmanity  of  the  world  stands  with  relief;  to  hope  for  the 
mtnre  and  build  a  more  secure,  a  larger  and  better  city. 

"  This  young  priest  has  done  yeoman  service  in  relieving  and 
caring  for  the  wounded,  comforting  the  bereaved  and  burying  the 
dead.  Bishop  Gallagher,  who  has  also  been  earnest  and  active  in 
his  efforts,  is  in  receipt  of  a  telegram  from  Archbishop  Corrigan, 
of  New  York,  stating  that  his  diocese  would  see  that  all  Roman 
Catholic  orphans  sent  to  his  care  would  be  provided  for.  To-mor- 
row a  census  of  the  Roman  Catholic  people  will  be  begun  to  ascer- 
tain the  number  of  widows  and  orphans  caused  by  the  storm,  and 
the  exact  number  of  families  that  perished. 

"The  Grand  Lodge  Committee  of  Odd  Fellows  were  here 
to-day  and  organized  local  relief  committees  to  look  after  and  caie 
for  the  sick  and  destitute  of  that  order,  for  whom  an  appeal  has 
been  sent  to  the  lodges  of  the  United  States  for  relief." 

SOUTHERN  PACIFIC  AT  GALVESTON  TO  STAY. 

"Galveston,  September  i6. — The  news  which  was  printed 
iiere  this  morning  in  the  shape  of  a  personal  telegram  from  Vice- 
President  Huntington,  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  that  that  road  is 
not  to  abandon  Galveston,  has  created  intense  satisfaction,  and  has 
materially  accelerated  the  movement  for  the  speedy  reconstruction 
of  the  city. 

"  Mr.  Huntington's  telegram  was  to  Mr.  A.   H.  Belo,  of  the 

Galveston  and  Dallas  News,  and  read :   '  I  see  it  reported  that  we 

le  to  abandon  our  work  at  Galveston.     Nothing  is  further  from 

our  thoughts.     We  expect  to  resume  work  there  as  soon  as  we  can. 

You  can  assure  the  people  to  that  effect.' 

"Dr.  W.  H.  Blount,  State  Health  Officer,  to-day  printed  a 
statement  showing  that  no  apprehensions  are  justified  that  sick 
ness  will  result  from  the  overflow  just   experienced.     He  showA 


176  VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS. 

tliat  in  1867,  i^"^  ^^^^  midst  of  the  widespread  epidemic  of  yellow 
fever,  a  severe  storm  occurred  at  Galveston  in  the  early  days  of 
October,  resulting  in  a  deposit  over  a  greater  portion  of  the  city 
of  slimy  mud.  Not  only  did  no  sickness  result,  but  the  cyclonic 
disturbance  cut  short  the  yellow  fever  epidemic,  and  but  few  cases 
of  fever  occurred  thereafter.  In  1875  and  1886,  when  there  were 
severe  storms  and  no  overflow,  no  increase  in  sickness  occurred. 

"  Several  thousand  men  are  at  work  clearing  away  the  debris 
on  the  beach.  One  hundred  and  fifty  bodies  were  discovered  in  the 
wreckage  and  b'nrned  Frida3^  No  attempt  is  now  being  made  to 
identify  recovered  bodies.  Indeed,  most  of  them  are  found  naked 
and  mutilated  beyond  recognition.  A  New  York  relief  train  has 
arrived  with  a  number  of  physicians  and  nurses  and  a  large  suppl}^ 
of  provisions,  which  were  distributed.  Every  effort  is  being  made 
by  the  postal  authorities  to  receive  and  distribute  mail.  No  city 
delivery  has  yet  been  arranged  for,  and  all  who  expect  letters  are 
requested  to  call  at  the  Postoffice.  No  mail  is  being  collected 
from  the  letter  boxes. 

"  In  some  quarters  of  the  city  the  Water  Works  Company  is 
serving  customers  on  the  second  stories.  This  is  taken  as  indi- 
cating the  rapid  headway  being  made  in  putting  the  plant  again 
in  operation.  The  Street  Railway  Company  suffered  a  loss  of  a 
quarter  of  a  million,  and  its  entire  system  is  torn  to  pieces.  An 
effort  is  to  be  made  temporarily  to  operate  cars  with  mules. 

ENCROACHMENTS    OF   THE    SEA. 

*'  The  residents  of  Galveston  are  plucky  in  the  extreme  in 
their  determination  to  rebuild  and  make  Galveston  a  greater  and 
better  city  than  it  has  ever  been  before,  but  in  one  direction,  at 
least,  they  have  suffered  a  loss  that  is  beyond  repair,  and  that  lie^ 
in  the  extent  of  the  territory  wrested  from  them  by  the  ston.  / 
The  waters  of  the  Gulf  now  cover  about  5,300,000  square  feet  ot 
ground  that  was  formerly  a  part  of  Galveston.  This  loss  has  been 
suffered  entirely  on  the  south  side  of  the  city,  where  the  finest  resi- 
dences were  built,  facing  the  gulf,  and  where  land  was  held  at  a 
higher  valuation  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  city. 


VAST  ARMY  OF  HELfLESS  VICTIMS.  177 

"  For  tlire*  miles  along  the  shore  of  the  Gulf  this  choice  resi- 
dence property  extended,  but  the  shore  line  was  so  changed  by  the 
storm  that  at  low  tide  the  water  is  350  feet  higher  along  the  entire 
three  miles.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  city  there  are  places  where 
350  feet  is  less  than  the  actual  amount  of  ground  taken  from  the 
city.  It  is  a  fair  estimate,  however,  for  the  entire  distance.  The 
foundation  pillars  of  the  Beach  Hotel  now  stand  in  the  water. 
Before  the  storm  there  was  a  beach  in  front  of  the  hotel  site  nearly 
400  feet  wide.  There  is  no  possibility  of  any  of  this  land  being 
reclaimed. 

A    MORE    HOPEFUL    FEELING. 

"  A  more  hopeful  feeling  is  observable  everywhere  here,  and 
the  situation  is  brightening  rapidly.  The  State  Health  Officer, 
Dr.  Blunt,  believes  that  there  is  now  no  danger  of  an  epidemic. 
The  city  Board  of  Health  held  a  meeting  yesterday  and  adopted  a 
resolution  voicing  the  same  views.  Emergency  hospitals  have 
been  established  in  every  ward  for  the  treatment  of  the  sick  and 
wounded. 

"  The  Ursulin  Convent  has  been  converted  into  a  great  gen- 
eral hospital  for  the  reception  and  care  of  patients  who  are 
seriously  ill,  with  a  full  corpse  of  physicians  and  trained  nurses. 
All  public  and  private  hospitals  are  filled  to  their  capacity  with 
sufferers.     Medical  supplies  are  still  much  needed. 

"  Banks  and  some  other  branches  of  business  have  resumed. 
Others  are  actively  preparing  to  resume.  Preparations  for  re- 
building are  already  going  on  in  the  business  part  of  the  city. 
The  railways  and  the  wharf  front  are  being  rapidly  cleaned  of 
debris.  The  telegraph  and  telephone  companies  are  rushing  their 
work.  The  Western  Union  has  five  wires  strung  to  their  down- 
town office.  The  Postal  will  have  some  up  soon,  and  the  full  tele- 
graphic service  is  expected  to  be  re-established  by  the  close  of  the 
week.  The  cable  connection  has  not  yet  been  restored.  Business 
on  the  floor  of  the  Cotton  Exchange  will  not  be  re-established  for 
three  weeks.  The  Exchange  B-.iilding  was  partly  unroofed  by  the 
storm. 

13 


178  VAST  ARMY  OF  HFJ.PLESS  VICTIMS. 

"Mauy  dead  are  reported  as  being  yet  uubiiried,  especially  in 
the  extreme  west  part  of  the  city.  The  interment  and  cremation 
of  human  bodies  and  the  carcasses  of  animals  is  being  vigorously 
prosecuted.  Only  about  six  houses  remain  between  South  Galves- 
ton and  the  city  limits.  Of  probably  looo  persons  living  down 
the  island,  at  least  one-third  were  lost.  There  are  200  bodies  on 
the  beach  between  the  Mott  place  and  the  city  limits.  Eighteen 
persons  in  this  neighborhood  got  together  and  began  burying  the 
dead  yesterday.     They  are  out  of  provisions. 

''  Daily  papers  and  illustrated  papers  have  been  most  energetic 
in  taking  photographs  of  the  Galveston  disaster.  The  town  is 
under  military  law,  and  the  people  are  not  inclined  to  brook  photog- 
raphers. Three  photographers  who  ventured  out  yesterday  had 
their  instruments  smashed  and  themselves  pressed  into  service 
,  burying  dead  bodies. 

"  So  much  progress  has  been  made  here  towards  the  rehabili- 
tation of  Galveston,  and  so  harmoniously  are  the  various  forces 
working,  that  General  McKibben,  who  was  ordered  here  with  his 
staff  to  assist  the  authorities,  has  decided  that  his  presence  is  no 
longer  necessary,  and  he  has  made  arrangements  to  leave  for 
Houston.  After  having  largely  assisted  in  the  restoration  of  local 
confidence,  the  withdrawal  of  General  McKibben  is  taken  to  mean 
that  little  is  to  be  done  here  but  to  take  care  of  the  distressed  until 
normal  business  conditions  have  been  resumed.  In  this  connection 
the  information  was  made  public  through  the  local  representatives 
of  the  Federal  authorites  yesterday  that  the  War  Department  will 
undertake  as  soon  as  possible  the  restoration  of  its  property  at  this 
point. 

RAILROAD    CAPITAL    TO    BE   EMPLOYED. 

' '  Dispatches  quoting  Eastern  financiers  on  the  future  of  Gal- 
veston are  read  with  much  interest.  The  idea,  however,  that  the 
status  of  the  city  will  be  changed  finds  no  local  adherents.  The 
various  railroads  entering  here  have  determined  to  assist  the 
citizens  of  Galveston  to  the  full  extent  of  their  ability  in  rebuilding 
the  city.     Colonel  L.  J.  Polk  of  the  Santa  Fe  has  received  a  vf^^v 


VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS.  179 

enthusiastic  and  encouraging  message  from  the  headquarters  of  the 
road,  declaring  confidence  in  Galveston,  urging  the  business  com- 
munity to  proceed  at  once  to  the  work  of  reconstruction,  and 
promising  every  help  in  their  power.  As  a  result  of  the  receipt  of 
the  message,  Colonel  Polk  said  yesterday  : 

"  The  railroad  interests  have  decided  to  combine  their  forces 
in  order  to  rebuild  as  quickly  as  possible  a  bridge  from  Virginia 
Point  to  Galveston.  A  large  number  of  men  will  go  to  work  in  the 
morning  with  this  end  in  view.  You  may  say  to  the  country  that  in 
six  days  a  bridge  will  have  been  built,  and  trains  will  be  running 
over  it.  I  have  had  a  consultation  with  the  wharf  interests,  and 
they  have  promised  us  that  they  will  be  prepared  to  handle  ingoing 
and  outgoiug  shipments  by  the  time  the  bridge  is  finished.  The 
bridge  we  will  build  will  be  of  substantial  but  temporary  character. 
We  will  subsequently  replace  it  with  a  more  enduring  structure. 
There  is  no  reason  why  Galveston  ought  not  commercially  to 
resume  normal  conditions  in  ten  days." 

MEDICAL  COLLEGE  SHATTERED. 

'  Colonel  Prather,  President  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the 
Medical  College  here,  and  Colonel  Breckinridge,  a  member  of  the 
Board,  were  among  the  late  arrivals  yesterday.  They  met 
General  McKibben,  and  were  driven  to  the  institution.  The3» 
found  the  building  in  a  badly  shattered  condition,  but  on  their  re- 
turn it  was  announced  that  the  college  would  be  immediately  re- 
constructed by  private  beneficence  if  the  State  was  unable  to  beai 
the  cost. 

"  Large  gangs  have  been  at  work  in  the  business  district,  and 
splendid  progress  in  clearing  away  debris  has  been  made.  The 
.street  car  company  has  a  large  force  of  men  at  work  cutting  wires, 
^"emoving  obstructions,  and  putting  their  track  in  condition." 

The  News  correspondent  telegraphs  as  follows  from  Hou5ton : 
"Inquiries  as  to  the  loss  of  life  and  property  continue  to  pour  in. 
The  list  will  never  be  known.  There  have  been  already  handled 
on  the  Galveston  island,  and  along  the  bay  shores  of  the  mainland 
opposite  the  island,  about  4000  corpses.     The  long  stretch  of  debris 


18u  VAST  ARMV  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS. 

along  the  beacli  aud  the  western  part  of  the  island  has  not  yet 
been  heard  from.  The  prairies  of  the  mainland  over  which  the 
waters  rushed  have  also  their  tales  to  tell.  I  should  say,  after  in- 
vestigation, that  a  conservative  estimate  of  the  loss  of  life  in  Gal- 
veston would  be  8000.  The  names  of  thousands  of  victims  will 
never  be  known.  They  have  simply  passed  out  of  existence.  As 
to  the  property  loss,  it  is  hard  to  make  an  estimate.  Colonel 
Lowes's  estimate  of  $15,000,000  to  $20,000,000  is  conservative." 

GALVESTON'S   DISTRESSING   APPEAL    RENEWED. 

Austin,  Tex.,  September  15. — Governor  Sayers  last  night 
received  the  following  official  report  from  Mayor  Jones,  of  Galves- 
ton, as  to  conditions  there  : 

"  Hon.  Joseph  D.  Sayers,  Governor  :  After  the  fullest  possi- 
ble investigation  here  we  feel  justified  in  saying  to  you,  and 
through  you  to  the  American  people,  that  no  such  disaster  has 
overtaken  any  community  or  section  in  the  history  of  our  country. 
The  loss  of  life  is  appalling,  and  can  never  be  accurately  deter- 
mined. It  is  estimated  at  5000  to  8000  people.  There  is  not  a 
home  in  Galveston  that  has  not  been  injured,  while  thousands 
have  been  destroyed.  The  property  loss  represents  accumulations 
of  sixt}'-  years,  and  more  millions  than  can  be  safely  stated.  Under 
these  conditions,  with  10,000  people  homeless  aud  destitute,  with 
th^  entire  population  under  a  stress  and  strain  difficult  to  realize, 
we  appeal  directly  in  the  hour  of  our  great  emergency  to  the  sym- 
pathy and  aid  of  mankind.  WALTER  JONES,  Mayor." 

GREAT    ANXIETY    FOR  FRIENDS. 

Memphis,  Tenn.,  September  15. — The  following  telegram  from 
Mayor  Jones,  of  Galveston,  was  received  here  to-day  : 

*' To  the  Associated  Press,  Memphis,  Tenn.:  I  am  in  receipt 
of  thousands  of  telegrams  offering  assistance  and  inquiring  about 
absent  friends  and  relatives.  All  of  these  have  been  promptly 
answered,  but  restricted  communication  has  probably  served  to 
cause  delay  in  transmission  and  delivery.  The  telegraphic  com- 
panies are  doing  all  in  their  power  to  restore  prompt  commuuica- 


VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS.  181 

tion  with  the  outside  world,  and  have  already  partially  succeeded, 
and  I  am  assured  that  within  the  next  few  days  normal  conditions 
with  reference  to  telegraphic  communication  will  prevail. 

"The  situation  in  Galveston  has  been  in   most  instances   ac- 
curately reported,  and  the  distress  of  the  people  is  great.     Galves- 
ton  and  vicinity  need  at  once  the  assistance  of  all  people.     Remit- 
'  tances  of  money  should  be  made  to  John  Sealy,  Treasurer  Relief 
Committee,  acknowledgment  of  which  will  be  made. 

"Walter  C.  Jones,  Mayor." 

DISTRESS    AT    ALVIN. 

Houston,  Texas,  September  15. — The  following  statement  and 
appeal  came  from  R.  W.  King,  of  Alvin,  Texas : 

"I  arrived  in  Alvin  from  Dallas,  and  was  astonished  and 
bewildered  by  the  sight  of  devastation  on  every  side.  Ninety- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  houses  in  this  vicinity  are  in  ruins,  leaving 
6,000  people  absolutely  destitute.  Everything  in  the  way  of  crops 
is  destroyed,  and  unless  there  is  speed}'  relief  there  will  be  exceed- 
ingly great  suffering. 

"  The  people  need  and  must  have  assistance.  Need  money  to 
rebuild  their  homes  and  buy  stock  and  implements.  They  need 
food — flour,  bacon,  corn.  They  must  have  seeds  for  their  gardens, 
so  as  to  be  able  to  do  something  for  themselves  very  soon.  Cloth- 
ing is  badly  needed.  Hundreds  of  women  and  children  are  with- 
out a  change,  and  are  already  suffering.  Some  better  idea  may  be 
had  of  the  distress  when  it  is  known  that  box-cars  are  being  im- 
provised as  houses  and  hay  as  bedding. 

"  Only  fourteen  houses  in  the  town  of  Alvin  are  standing  on 
''their  foundations,  and  they  are  badly  damaged.  While  the  great 
sympathetic  heart  of  this  grand  Nation  is  responding  so  generously 
for  the  stricken  city  of  Galveston,  it  should  be  remembered  also 
that  the  smaller  towns — where  the  same  condition  of  total  wreck 
exists,  though  miraculously  with  smaller  loss  of  life — need  imme- 
diate help  from  a  liberal  people." 

The  situation  on  Saturday,  the  15th,  is  told  in  the  following 
graphic  description : 


382  VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS. 

"  Under  the  firm  rule  of  the  military  authorities,  affairs  in 
Galveston  are  rapidly  assuming  a  more  cheerful  aspect.  The 
forces  of  law  and  order  are  crystallizing  every  hour,  and  now  that 
the  people  realize  that  there  is  definite  authority  to  which  they  can 
appeal  they  are  going  to  work  systematically  to  renovate  the  city 
and  prevent  any  possibility  of  epidemic.  The  force  engaged  in 
burying  the  dead  and  clearing  up  the  city  has  increased  steadily 
until  now  twenty-five  hundred  men  are  pushing  the  work. 

"Adjutant-General  Scurry  holds  the  town  fast  with  a  strong 
grip.  He  is  compelling  all  men  whose  services  can  be  spared  from 
public  business  to  join  the  forces  at  the  work  in  the  streets. 

"  The  burial  of  the  dead  goes  steadily  on.  All  the  corpses  in 
the  open,  along  the  shores  or  near  the  wreckage,  have  been  sunk 
in  the  gulf  or  burned  in  the  streets.  The  labor  of  clearing  awa}^ 
the  debris  in  search  of  bodies  began  at  Thirtieth  street  and  avenue 
O,  one  of  the  worst  wrecked  parts  of  the  town.  Two  hundred  men 
were  put  at  work,  and  in  thirty  minutes  fifty  corpses  were  found 
within  a  space  thirty  yards  square.  Whole  families  lay  dead  piled 
in  indescribable  confusion. 

OLD  AND  YOUNG  CRUSHED  TOGETHER, 

"  Old  and  young  crushed  by  the  falling  timbers,  were  one  by 
one  dragged  from  debris  six  to  twenty  feet  deep.  Aged  fathers 
were  clinging  to  more  robust  forms  ;  children  clutching  to  mother's 
skirts,  young  girls  with  their  arms  around  brothers,  mothers  clasp- 
ing babes  to  their  bosoms.  These  were  the  melancholy  sights 
seen  by  those  digging  among  the  ruins.  In  dozens  and  scores  the 
bodies  were  turned  up  by  pich  and  shovel,  rake  and  axe.  Away 
to  the  left  the  wreckage  stretched  two  miles  to  Seventh  street ;  to 
the  right,  a  mile  to  Fortieth  street  down  town. 

"Popular  sentiment  insists  that  the  west  end  be  burned,  but 
t*he  military  authorities  have  hesitated  to  give  the  order.  Father 
Kerwin  and  Captain  Morrisse}^  urge  that  the  wreckage  be  fired  at 
once,  and  it  will  probably  be  done. 

"  Men  are  making  ready  to  apply  the  torch.  Fire  engines  are 
out  on  the  beach.     A  road  runs  through  the  wreckage  separating 


VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS.  183 

it  from  houses  not  wholly  destroyed.  When  water  i*  iu it  mng 
freely  in  the  mains  the  fire  will  be  started.  Fires  are  'turning  at 
intervals  all  along  the  beach  over  the  gulf  front,  raising  clouds  of 
smoke,  which  stretches  far  along  the  coast. 

"  The  streets  are  clearing  rapidly;  many  in  the  centre  of"  the 
town  are  to-day  readily  passable.  Along  the  Bay  and  Gulf  fronts 
however,  the  wreckage  still  chokes  the  streets.  Sanitary  conditions 
are  steadily  improving.  Physicians  do  not  disguise  the  danger  to 
the  city,  but  do  not  expect  an  epidemic.  Five  of  them  declared 
to-day  that  if  the  refuse  was  completely  burned,  the  streets  were 
thoroughly  disinfected  and  the  sewers  quickly  put  in  order,  there 
would  be  no  pestilence. 

GREAT    EXODUS    OF    WOMEN    AND    CHILDREN, 

"  Women  and  children  are  leaving  in  large  numbers.  They 
include  all  classes  and  conditions.  In  groups  and  sometimes  in 
long  lines  they  pass  down  Tremont  street  on  the  way  to  the  boat 
bound  for  Texas  City.  Many  are  going  never  to  return,  poorly 
and  scantily  clad,  with  handkerchiefs  for  hats,  and  all  their  worldly 
goods  stuffed  into  pillow-cases. 

"The  man  who  has  no  property  or  relatives  in  Galvestrn  ib 
leaving  for  good.  The  future  of  Galveston  depends  upon  whether 
or  not  the  town  can  retain  its  shipping.  If  Galveston  can  keep  her 
prestige  as  a  port  her  revival  is  assured.  All  those  who  have 
helped  to  make  Galveston  what  it  was  are  certain  that  it  wall  con- 
tinue to  be  the  great  port  of  the  Southwest.  Not  a  man  in  town 
who  has  any  property  will  desert  the  city.  Progressive  citizens 
have  been  especially  cheered  by  the  news  that  the  English  shippers 
will  continue  to  patronize  the  port  and  by  the  generous  gift  of 
$5000  from  R.  P.  Houston,  member  of  the  English  Parliament  and 
head  of  the  shipping  firm  of  R.  P.  Houston  &  Co.,  of  Liverpool' 
and  London.  This  contribution  came  in  response  to  the  news  that 
one  of  the  Houston  steamers,  the  Hilarius,  was  stranded  on  the 
Pelican  Island. 

"Business  men  know  that  if  Galveston  should  go  down  its 
shipping  would  promptly  be  transferred  to  New  Orleans.     But  it  is 


184  VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS. 

the  glory  of  the  people  of  New  Orleans  that  since  the  storm  they 
have  said  not  a  word  against  the  rebuilding  of  this  city,  but  have 
generously  and  nobly  responded  to  the  appeals  for  Galveston's 
sufferers. 

'*In  spite  of  any  ambition  of  rival  ports,  in  spite  of  the  tim- 
idity of  women  and  some  men,  the  people  of  Galveston,  patiently 
and  soberly,  with  loyalty  and  courage,  are  determined  to  rebuild  on 
the  ruins  of  this  once  beautiful  city  a  metropolis  that  shall  prosper 
and  endure.  They  are  determined  to  do  this,  in  spite  of  the  pos- 
sibility that  their  homes  and  industries  may  again  be  wrecked  by 
storm.  If  you  ask  them  why,  they  will  tell  you,  "  No  community 
is  immune  from  disasters  of  this  kind.  It  merely  happened  that 
Galveston  was  in  the  path  of  the  storm."  And  then  they  will  ^^o 
back  to  burying  their  dead. 

"Captain  Randall,  of  the  steamship  Comeno,  which  has  ar- 
rived from  New  Orleans,  reports  that  coming  up  the  bay  he  saw  a 
great  many  human  corpses,  and  that  the  banks  of  Pelican  Island 
were  strewn  with  the  dead.  Pelican  Island  is  six  miles  from 
Galveston. 

BRIDGE  AND  TRAIN  IN  SIX  DAYS. 

"  The  various  railroads  entering  the  city  are  determined  to 
assist  to  the  full  extent  of  their  ability  in  rebuilding  the  city. 
Colonel  L.  J.  Polk,  of  the  Santa  Fe,  has  received  a  very  encour- 
aging message  from  the  headquarters  of  his  road,  declaring  confi- 
dence  in  Galveston,  and  urging  the  business  community  to  push 
forward  the  work  of  reconstruction.  Colonel  Polk  said  in  an  inter- 
view: 

"  The  railroad  interests  have  decided  to  combine  their  forces  in 
order  to  rebuild  as  quickly  as  possible  a  bridge  from  Virginia  Point 
to  Galveston.  A  large  number  of  men  will  go  to  work  with  this 
end  in  view.  You  may  say  to  the  country  that  in  six  days  a 
bridge  will  have  been  built  and  trains  running  over  it,  I  have  had 
a  consultation  with  the  wharf  interests,  and  they  have  promised 
us  that  they  will  be  prepared  to  handle  ingoing  and  outgoing  ship- 
ments  by   the  time  the  bridge  is  finished.     The  bridge  we  shall 


VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS.  385 

build  will  be  substantial,  but  of  temporary  character.  We  shall 
subsequently  replace  it  with  a  more  enduring  structure.  There  is 
no  reason  why  Galveston  ought  not  to  resume  normal  commercial 
conditions  in  ten  days. 

"  So  much  progress  has  been  made  toward  the  rehabilitation 
'  of  the  city,  and  so  harmoniously  are  the  various  working  forces 
working  that  General  McKibben,  who  was  ordered  here  with  his 
staff  to  assist  the  authorities,  has  decided  that  his  presence  is  no 
longer  necessary,  and  he  has  made  arrangements  to  leave  for 
Houston. 

"  The  hiding  place  of  three  ghouls  was  discovered  in  a  beached 
dredge  formerly  used  by  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company. 
Three  satchels,  filled  with  jewelry  and  money,  were  seized.  The 
men,  who  are  whites,  will  probably  be  shot. 

BANKS  ASK  MILLION  DOLLAR  LOAN. 

*'The  cashier  of  the  Island  City  Bank  left  the  city  last  nighl 
for  Houston.  He  carried  with  him  a  petition  from  the  Associated 
Galveston  Banks  begging  the  Houston  bankers  to  advance  them 
$1,000,000.  By  an  agreement  made  among  the  Galveston  banks, 
no  check  for  more  than  $25  is  now  honored.  It  is  impossible  foi 
nine  out  of  ten  Galveston  merchants  to  meet  any  promissory  notes 
that  are  about  to  fall  due,  and  if  assistance  is  not  obtained  the  mcr. 
chants,  as  well  as  the  banks,  must  go  down. 

"  Every  time  a  schooner  or  a  catboat  was  filled  to  its  safety 
limit  with  human  freight,  and  the  way  was  barred,  women  would 
gesticulate  wildly  and  in  choking  voice  implore  even  standing 
room.  Nime  hundred  refugees  left  the  city  yesterday,  and  10,000 
'more  would  have  left  to-day  if  facilities  were  at  hand." 

Excellent  work  in  saving  lives  during  the  hurricane  at  Gal- 
veston was  done  by  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  revenue  cutter  Gal- 
veston, which  was  stationed  at  that  port. 

The  first  mail  through  from  the  stricken  city  reached  Wash- 
ington on  the  15th,  and  brought  two  letters  from  Chief  Engineer 
W.  H.  Whitaker  of  the  Galveston.  Under  date  of  September  9, 
he  says : 


186  VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS. 

"All  the  sheds  on  the  wharves  must  have  been  levelled  to  the 
ground,  or  nearly  so.  I  do  not  think  there  is  a  house  that  has  not 
been  more  or  less  damaged  or  blown  to  the  ground.  While  the 
wind  was  blowing  over  sixty  miles  an  hour  we  sent  out  a  boat  with 
a  rescuing  party  to  row  up  one  of  the  streets.  The  first  trip  they 
succeeded  in  saving  thirteen  women  and  children,  and  brought 
,  them  back  to  the  vessel  in  safety. 

"  It  was  useless  to  attempt  to  row  the  boat  against  the  terrific 
wind,  and,  as  the  water  was  at  that  time  not  over  a  man's  head  in 
the  streets,  a  rope  would  be  sent  out  to  the  nearest  telegraph  pole, 
and  by  that  means  the  boat  could  be  hauled  along  from  pole  to 
pole.  This  [was  accomplished  only  by  the  most  herculean  efforts 
on  the  part  of  the  men  who  led  out  the  rope,  but  between  swim- 
ming, walking  and  floundering  along  in  the  teeth  of  the  gale  the 
rope  would  finally  be  made  fast. 

FACING  THE  FIERCE  BLASTS  OF  THE  STORM. 

"  Then  it  was  all  that  the  crew  of  one  officer  and  seven  men 
could  do  to  pull  the  boat  against  the  fierce  blasts  of  the  cyclone. 
By  working  all  Saturday  afternoon  and  evening  and  up  to  one 
o'clock  Sunday  morning  the  brave  boys  succeeded  in  rescuing 
thirty-four  men,  women  and  children,  whom  they  put  in  a  place  of 
safety  and  provided  with  enough  provisions  for  their  immediate 
needs.  Finally,  on  account  of  the  darkness,  the  increasing  vio- 
lence of  the  storm  and  the  vast  amount  of  wreckage  in  the  {L.treets, 
the  rescuing  party  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  return  to  the  ressel. 

"  On  board  the  ship  it  was  a  period  of  intense  anxiety  for  all 
hands.  No  one  slept,  and  it  was  only  by  the  almost  superhuman 
efforts  of  the  officers  and  crew  that  we  rode  out  the  hurricane  in 
safety.  With  the  exception  of  the  carrying  away  of  the  port  for- 
^ward  rigging  and  the  smashing  of  all  the  windows  and  skylights, 
the  vessel  sustained  no  serious  injury.  Not  a  single  person  on 
board  was  injured  in  any  way." 

Under  date  of  September  1 1  the  same  officer  writes  :  "  We 
think  there  have  been  5000  lives  lost.  I  cannot  begin  to  tell  the 
number  of  houses  blown  down  or  damage  done.    Our  new  distiller, 


VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS.  187 

which  came  down  on  the  New  York  steamer,  has  been  set  up  on 
deck,  and  we  are  thus  enabled  to  relieve  much  suffering  by  supply- 
ing drinking  water  to  the  many  who  call  on  us  for  relief.  We 
have  also  furnished  as  much  food  to  the  needy  as  we  can  possibly 
spare. 

"x\ll  that  can  be  thought  of  now  is  the  disposing  of  the  dead. 
Already  one  steamer  load  and  four  barge  loads  have  been  sent  out 
to  sea.  During  the  height  of  the  hurricane  the  tide  rose  seven  or 
eight  feet  above  the  usual  high  water  mark  and  three  feet  over  the 
wharves. 

"  There ^are  five  hundred  men  working  to  repair  the  city  water 
works  and  in  the  meantime  we  are  furnishing  all  the  water  we  can 
possibly  distil  to  the  sufferers  and  aiding  them  in  such  other  ways 
as  lie  in  our  power." 

With  a  view  to  the  restoration  of  the  fortifications  in  the  har- 
bor of  Galveston,  General  Wilson,  chief  of  engineers,  organized  a 
Board  of  engineer  ofiicers,  consisting  of  Colonel  Henry  M.  Robert, 
stationed  in  New  York  ;  Major  Henry  M.  Adams,  stationed  in  New 
Orleans  ;  Captain  Charles  H.  Riche,  stationed  in  Galveston,  and 
Captain  Edgar  Jadwin,  stationed  in  New  York,  tc  meet  in  Galves- 
ton at  the  call  of  the  senior  officer  about  October  20. 

RESTORATION  OF  PUBLIC  WORKS. 

The  Board  is  instructed  to  make  a  careful  examination  of  tne 
jetties  and  fortifications  of  Galveston  and  to  report  to  the  Chief  of 
Engineers  what  action  is  necessary  for  the  repair  and  restoration 
of  the  fortifications  and  harbor  works. 

Acting  Secretary  of  War  Meiklejohn  has  received  a  telegram 
from  Mayor  Jones,  of  Galveston,  saying :  "The  people  of  the  city 
of  Galveston  desire  to  return  to  you  their  heartfelt  thanks  for  your 
assistance  in  their  hour  of  trouble  and  affliction." 

A  despatch  also  was  received  from  General  AIcKibben  saying ' 
that  there  are  plenty  of  doctors  in  Galveston,  but  that  disinfectants] 
are  badly  needed. 

"Washington,  September  15. — In  response  to  the  request  of 
your  journal  concerning  the  situation  in  Galveston,  I  have  a  report 


188  VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPT.ESS  VICTIMS. 

from  Passed  Assistant  Surgeon  Werteiibaker,  who  was  directed  to 
go  from  his  station  in  New  Orleans  to  Galveston,  practically  con- 
firming the  press  reports  as  to  the  effect  of  the  storm  and  condi- 
tions existing.     He  says : 

"'City  is  wrecked.  Press  reports  not  exaggerated.  Deaths 
estimated  at  5000.  Bodies  being  cremated  as  fast  as  found.  Many 
bodies  under  debris  not  yet  removed.  Water  supply  limited. 
Very  scarce  now,  but  supplies  coming  in  rapidly.  The  only  means 
of  communication  is  by  railroad  to  Texas  City,  thence  by  boat,  or 
by  boat  from  Houston.' 

"Dr.  Wertenbaker  is  at  Houston  and  Surgeon  Peckham  and 
Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  Lea  Hume  are  giving  all  the  aid  posM- 
ble  in  Galveston.  I  do  not  apprehend  an  outbreak  of  any  epi- 
demic of  disease  as  a  result  of  the  storm.  The  law  and  regulations 
are  ample  to  meet  the  emergency. 

"There  is  danger  of  sickness  caused  by  unusual  exposure  and 
deprivation  of  food  and  water,  but  the  people  of  Galveston  and  the 
Governor  and  other  officials  of  the  State  and  city  appear  to  be 
thoroughly  alive  to  the  necessities  of  the  situation.  Their  dispo- 
sal of  bodies  by  cremation  is  certainly  a  wise  measure,  and  I  am 
convinced  that  the  native  energy  of  the  people,  supplemented  by 
the  tents  and  rations  furnished  by  the  War  DepartmenL,  and  the 
contributions  which  have  been  and  are  flowing  in  from  all  parts 
of  the  country,  will  obviate  the  outbreak  of  widespread  disease. 

"  Walter  Wyman, 

;  "  Supervising  Surgeon  General  Marine  Hospital  Service." 

WHOLE  FAMILIES  LOST. 

''Austin,  Texas,  Saturday. — Imagine,  if  you  can,  fifty  thou- 
sand persons,  many  of  them  without  clothing,  all  of  them  in  imme- 
diate need  of  food  and  drink  ;  motherless  and  fatherless  children, 
men  who  have  lost  their  families, — men,  women  and  children  all 
dazed  from  one  of  the  greatest  calamities  of  the  time,  and  you  can 
have  some  slight  idea  of  the  conditioi  s  existing  at  Galveston  and 
all  over  the  country  along  the  Gulf  contiguous  to  the  storm  centre 
of  last  Saturday  and  Sunday. 


VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS.  I8d 

"  The  most  harrowing  reports  have  been  brought  to  Governor 
Sayers  by  dozens  of  relief  committees,  which  have  been  pouring  in 
here  from  all  the  cities  along  the  coast  pleading  for  assistance.  In 
response  to  an  invitation  from  the  Governor  a  special  committee  of 
Galveston  citizens,  headed  by  Major  Skinner,  of  the  Galveston 
Cotton  Exchange,  arrived  for  consultation  with  Governor  Sayers. 

VAST  AMOUNT  OF  WORK  TO  BE  DONE. 

"The  Relief  Committee  reported  to  the  Governor  that  the  city 
authorities  would  prefer  that  the  city  remain  under  the  command 
of  State  Adjutant-General  Scurry  for  the  time  being  at  least;  thai 
he  not  only  be  allowed  to  superintend  the  patrolling  of  the  city,  but 
that  he  be  placed  in  charge  of  the  sanitary  work  as  well,  and  that 
he  be  allowed  to  hire  2000  laborers  from  other  portions  of  the  State, 
as  the  laborers  in  Galveston  had  their  own  homes  to  look  after. 

"  Governor  Sayers  will  not  only  secure  the  importation  of  aocx) 
outside  laborers  for  sanitary  work,  but  he  will  recognize  any  drafts 
made  by  Chairman  Seeley,  of  the  local  Galveston  Relief  Committee, 
for  such  moneys  as  he  may  want  from  time  to  time,  and  in  such 
quantities  as  are  necessary,  the  same  to  be  expended  under  the  ex- 
clusive control  of  the  chairman  and  the  local  Finance  Committee 
of  Galveston. 

"In  addition  to  the  Galveston  plea  for  assistance,  several  relief 
committees  from  other  points  were  entertained  by  the  Governor. 
The  one  from  Velasco,  following  the  Galveston  committee,  stated  that 
there  were  2000  destitute  there.  Alvin  reported  8000  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. The  Columbia  District  reported  2500,  and  several  other 
towns  reported  in  proportion.  Fort  Bend  County  coming  with  a 
report  of  some  15,000  in  that  county  alone. 

"In  view  of  these  reports  Governor  Sayers  ordered  bacon  and 
flour  to  be  sent  to  Galveston,  Richmond,  Fort  Bend,  Angleton, 
Velasco  and  Alvin  in  quantities  ranging  from  200,000  pounds  of 
flour  and  100,000  pounds  of  bacon  for  Galveston,  to  5000  pounds  of 
the  former  and  20,000  pounds  of  the  latter  as  an  emergency  supply 
for  Alvin.     More  supjDlies  will  follow  at  once." 

Says  one  of  our  great  newspapers  : 


190  VAST  ARMY  OF  HELPLESS  VICTIMS. 

"  Galveston  is  showing  the  same  splendid  courage  as  Chicago 
thirty  years  ago,  before  a  less  dire  calamity,  and  the  country  as  a 
whole  is  displaying  the  same  liberality.  The  Galveston  News 
undoubtedly  speaks  for  the  city  and  the  citizens  in  declaring  that 
the  city  will  be  rebuilt  and  protected.  Its  channel,  as  one  slight 
recompense,  has  been  deepened  to  thirty  feet.  There  remains  its 
protection  by  sea  walls,  and  here  the  General  Government  might 
well  deal  liberally  with  the  stricken  city.  Whatever  Galveston 
port  needs  to  protect  and  prevent  the  city  from  another  tidal  wave 
ought,  and  we  do  not  doubt  will,  be  the  liberal  care  of  Congress  next 
winter. 

"  Much  more  remains.  The  insurance  companies  rebuilt 
Chicago,  and  furnished  the  city  with  working  building  capital. 
Galveston  has  no  such  resource.  Like  Johnstown  the  city  has  to 
be  rebuilt  and  the  houses  refitted.  In  the  great  flood  of  18S9  this 
was  rendered  possible  because  all  the  great  flood  of  relief  was  man- 
aged, methodized  and  economically  directed  by  the  Johnstown 
Relief  Commission,  acting  for  the  State.  This  prevented  waste, 
gathered  together  all  aid  and  successfully  rebuilt,  refurnished  and 
re-equipped  the  destroyed  homes. 

"  The  Galveston  disaster  needs  a  like  body.  Food  and  shelter 
will  before  long  be  provided.  This  is  but  a  beginning.  Contribu- 
tions are  pouring  out  all  over  the  country  and  organized  work  has 
not  yet  begun.  Any  sum  really  needed  by  Galveston  can  be  raised 
if  it  is  asked  by  an  authoritative  body,  able  to  speak  defi.nitely  and 
with  precision  of  the  losses  sustained  by  churches,  hospitals,  insti- 
tutions and  individuals,  and  competent  to  distribute  relief  with 
efficiency  and  economy.  If  Texas  and  Galveston  put  :iuch  a  body 
before  the  country  in  complete  control  the  desiiltoiy  giving  already 
begun  will  be  succeeded  by  organized,  syst^^iu sith  contributions 
equal  to  the  great  need,  great  as  it  is." 


CHARliSK  A. 

*>ctaiis  ot   inc   Overwhelming   Tragedy — The  Whole   City 

Caught  in  the  Death-Trap — Personal  Experiences 

of  Those  Who  Escaped — First  Reports 

More  Than  Confirmed. 

rHH  centre  of  the  West  Indian  hurricane,  which  had  been  pre- 
dicted for  several  days,  struck  Galveston  at  9  o'clock  Satur- 
day morning.  At  that  hour  the  wind  was  in  the  north  and  the 
waters  of  the  bay  were  rising  rapidly.  The  Gulf  was  also  turbu- 
lent, and  the  water,  forced  in  by  the  tropical  storm,  rolled  up  the 
beach  and  gradually  swept  inland.  About  2  o'clock  P.  M.  the 
wind  was  rising  rapidly,  constantly  veering,  but  settling  towards 
the  east  and  coming  in  fitful  jerks  and  puffs,  which  loosened 
awnings,  cornices,  slated  roofs  and  sent  the  fragments  flying  in 
l;he  air. 

The  waters  of  the  bay  continued  rising  and  creeping  ashore, 
mingled  with  the  waters  from  the  clouds,  and  filled  the  down- 
town streets  and  invaded  stores.  Despite  the  danger  from  fl3ang 
missiles,  as  the  afternoon  wore  on,  men  ventured  out  in  the  streets 
in  hacks,  in  wagons,  in  boats  and  on  foot,  some  anxious  to  get 
home  to  their  families,  some  bent  on  errands  of  mercy,  and  others 
animated  by  no  purpose  save  bravado. 

Gaining  in  velocity,  the  wind  changed  to  the  northeast,  then 
to  the  east,  and  the  waters  rose  until  they  covered  the  city.  The 
wind  howled  frightfully  around  the  buildings,  tearing  off 
cornices  and  ripping  off  roofs.  The  wooden  paving  blocks  rose 
,from  their  places  in  the  streets  and  .floated  off  in  great  section?! 
down  the  streets. 

At  6.30  o'clock  the   wind  had  shifted  to  the  southeast,   still 

increasing  in  velocity.     At  that  hour  the  wind  gauge  on  the  roof 

of  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau  registered  eighty-four  miles 

an    hour  then  blew  away.     Still     the    wind    blew    harder    and 

harder   and    even    the  most  fortunate   houses   lost    all   or  a  part 

1.91 


192  DETAILS  OF  THE  OVERWHELMING  TRAGEDY. 

of  til eir  coverings.  The  storm  reached  its  height  at  about  8.30 
o'clock,  At  9  o'clock  the  wind  began  subsiding  and  the  waters  to 
recede. 

But  the  fury  of  the  storm  had  not  been  spent  until  well  into 
Sunday  morning.  At  i  o'clock  the  water  had  fallen  until  the 
streets  were  inundated  no  more  than  they  would  be  by  a  big 
rain.  Sunday  morning  broke  clear,  and  the  sun  shone 
brightly  on  a  scene  of  wreck  and  ruin,  which  verily  beggars 
description. 

The  streets  were  piled  with  debris,  in  many  places  several ;' 
feet  high.  Buildings  were  shorn  of  roofs,  cornices,  chimneys  and 
windows.  Stocks  of  goods  were  damaged  by  floods  from  below  and 
rain  from  above.  But  it  was  the  wind  which  had  wrought  the 
g'reatest  havoc  in  every  respect.  The  damage  from  waters  of  the 
bay  was  inconsequential  when  compared  with  that  from  wind. 
The  eastern  part  of  the  city  received  the  full  force  of  the  storm 
and  su^ered  most,  although  no  section  escaped  serious  injury. 

FRANTIC    PEOPLE    HUNTING    RELATIVES 

All  along  the  beach  for  about  four  blocks  back  scarcely  a 
residence  was  left.  The  beach  district  was  shorn  of  habitations. 
Back  of  that  houses  and  timbers  piled  up,  crushing  other  build- 
ings which  lay  in  their  path.  Men  and  women  walked  through 
the  slimy  mud  that  overspread  the  streets,  homeless.  Men  and 
women  rushed  around  frantic,  hunting  their  relatives.  Dead  and 
wounded  men,  women  and  children  lay  around  waiting  the  com- 
ing of  the  volunteer  corps  organized  to  remove  the  bodies  to 
improvised  morgues  and  hospitals.  There  was  no  thought  of 
property  damage  ;  those  who  had  escaped  with  their  families,  los- 
ing all  else,  felt  satisfied  and  thanked  their  Maker. 

Mr.  A.  V.  Kellogg,  a  civil  engineer  in  the  employ  of  the; 
Right  of  Way  Department  of  the  Houston  and  Texas  Central 
Railroad  in  Houston,  went  down  to  Galveston  Saturday  morning 
on  company  business,  leaving  on  the  Galveston,  Houston  and 
Henderson  train  which  departs  from  Houston  at  9.45.  Mr. 
Kellogg  had  an  interesting  tale  of  his  experiences  getting  into 


DETAILS  OF  THE   OVERWHELMING   TRAGEDY.  193 

Galveston,  of  the  storm  and  its  effects  and  liow  he  managed  to  get 
out  of  the  city  and  into  Houston  again. 

"When  we  crossed  the  bridge  over  Galveston  Bay  going  to 
Galveston,  said  Mr.  Kellogg,  the  water  had  reached  an  elevation 
equal  to  the  bottom  of  the  caps  of  the  pile  bents,  or  two  feet  below 
the  level  of  the  track.  After  crossing  the  bridge  and  reaching  a 
point  some  two  miles  beyond  we  were  stopped  by  reason  of  the 
washout  of  the  track  ahead  and  were  compelled  to  wait  one  hour 
for  a  relief  train  to  come  out  on  the  Galveston,  Houston  and  Hen- 
derson track.  During  this  period  of  one  hour  the  water  rose  a 
foot  and  a  half,  running  over  the  rails  of  the  track. 

"  The  relief  train  signaled  us  to  back  up  a  half  mile  to  higher 
ground,  where  the  passengers  were  transferred,  the  train  crew 
leaving  with  the  passengers  and  going  on  the  relief  train.  The 
water  had  reached  an  elevation  of  eight  or  ten  inches  above  the 
Galveston,  Houston  and  Henderson  track  and  was  flowing  in  a 
westward  direction  at  a  terrific  speed.  The  train  crew  were  com- 
pelled to  wade  ahead  of  the  engine  and  dislodge  driftwood  from 
the  track.  At  1.15  we  arrived  at  the  Santa  Fe  union  depot.  At 
that  period  of  the  day  the  wind  was  increasing  and  had  then 
reached  a  velocity  of  about  thirty-five  miles  an  hour. 

THE    HOTEL    FLOODED. 

"  After  arriving  at  Galveston  I  immediately  went  to  the  Tre- 
mont  Hotel,  where  I  remained  the  balance  of  the  day  and  during 
the  night.  At  5:30  the  water  had  begun  to  creep  into  the  rotunda 
of  the  hotel,  and  by  8  o'clock  it  was  twenty-six  inches  above  the 
floor  of  the  hotel,  or  about  six  and  one-half  feet  above  the  street 
level.  The  front  windows  of  the  hotel  were  blown  in  between  the 
hours  of  5  and  8.  The  roof  was  blown  off  and  the  skylights  over  the' 
rotunda  fell  in  and  fell  through,  crashing  on  the  floor  below.  The 
refugees  began  to  come  into  the  hotel  between  5:30  and  8  o'clock 
until  at  least  800  or  1,000  persons  had  sought  safety  there.  The 
floors  were  strewn  with  people  all  during  the  night. 

"  Manager  George  Korst  and  the  employes  of  the  hotel  did 
everything  in  their  power  to  help  the  sufferers  from  the  efi"ects  of 

13 


194  DETAILS  OF   THE   OVERWHELMING   TRAGEDY. 

the  storm  and  to  give  tliein  shelter.  At  5  o'clock  the  wind  was 
blowing  from  the  northeast  at  a  velocity  of  about  forty-five  miles 
an  honr,  and  by  9  o'clock  it  had  reached  the  climax,  the  velocity 
then  being  fully  100  miles.  The  vibration  of  the  hotel  was  not 
unlike  that  of  a  boxcar  in  motion.  I  tried  to  sleep  that  night,  but 
there  was  so  much  noise  and  confusion  from  the  crashing  of  build- 
ings that  I  didn't  get  much  rest. 

STREET   SIGHTS   WERE    APPALLING. 

"  I  arose  early  Sunday  morning.  The  sights  in  the  streets 
were  simply  appalling.  .  The  water  on  Tremont  street  had  lowered 
some  eight  feet  from  the  high  water  mark,  leaving  the  pavement 
clear  from  two  blocks  north  and  six  or  seven  blocks  south  of  the 
Tremont  Hotel.  The  streets  were  full  of  debris,  the  wires  were 
all  down  and  the  buildings  were  in  a  very  much  damaged  condi- 
tion. Every  building  in  the  business  district  was  damaged  to 
some  extent  but  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  and  those,  the  Lev}^ 
Building,  corner  of  Tremont  and  Market,  and  the  Union  Depot, 
both  of  which  remained  intact  and  went  through  the  storm  without 
a  scratch. 

"  The  refugees  came  pouring  down  into  the  heart  of  the  city, 
many  of  them  had  but  little  clothing,  and  scores  of  them  were 
almost  naked. 

They  were  homeless  without  food  or  drink,  a  great  many  had 
lost  their  all  and  were  really  in  destitute  circumstances.  Mayor 
Jones  issued  a  call  for  a  mass  meeting,  which  was  held  Sunday 
morning  at  9  o'clock  and  was  attended  by  a  large  number  of 
prominent  citizens.  Steps  were  taken  to  furnish  provisions  and 
relieve  the  suffering  of  the  refugees  and  to  bury  the  dead. 

"  Early  in  the  morning  it  was  learned  that  the  water  supply 
had  been  cut  off  for  some  unknown  reason.  I  presume  that  it 
was  caused  by  the  English  ship  which  was  blown  up  against  the 
bridges,  cutting  the  pipes.  At  all  events,  the  city  is  without 
water,  and  something  should  be  done  by  the  citizens  of  Houston 
to  relieve  this  situation.  People  who  had  depended  on  cisterns, 
of  course,  had  their  resources  swept  away,  and  there  are  but  few 


DETAILS   OF  THE   OVERWHELMING  TRAGEDY.  195 

large   reservoirs    of    rain    water    to   be    found    in   the   business 
district. 

"The  scene  on  the  docks  was  a  terrible  one.  The  small 
working  fleet  and  the  larger  schooners  were  washed  over  the 
docks  and  railroad  tracks  in  frightful  confusion.  The  Mallory 
docks  were  demolished.  The  elevators  were  torn  in  shreds. 
Three  ocean  liners  were  anchored  off  the  docks  and  seemed  to  be 
in  good  condition.  The  damage  to  the  shipping  interests  is 
.  simply  immense,  the  Huntington  improvement  being  entirely 
swept  away. 

FRIGHTFUL    CONFUSION    EVERYWHERE. 

"I  tried  to  get  out  of  the  town  as  quick  as  I  could,  and  suc- 
,eeded  in  securing  passage  on  the  first  sloop  which  sailed,  which 
happened  to  be  the  'Annie  Jane,'  Captain  Thomas  Willoughby, 
who  afterward  proved  to  be  an  excellent  sailor.  We  sailed  from 
the  Twenty-second  street  slip  at  ii  o'clock,  with  seven  souls 
aboard.  When  we  got  outside  the  harbor  we  found  it  was  blowing 
a  terrific  gale  and  the  sea  running  very  high.  Under  three  reefs 
and  the  peak  down  we  set  our  course  for  North  Galveston.  As 
we  passed  Pelican  Flats  we  could  see  the  English  steamer 
anchored  off  over  toward  where  the  railroad  bridge  should  be,  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  she  had  evidently  broken  the  water 
mains  and  cut  the  supply  off  from  the  city. 

"Another  ocean  liner  could  be  seen  off  the  shore  of  Texas 
City,  in  what  would  seem  to  have  been  about  two  feet  of  water  in 
normal  tide.  We  passed  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  where 
the  Half-moon  light  house  once  stood,  but  could  see  no  evidence 
of  the  light  house,  it  being  completely  washed  away.  The  waters 
,  of  the  bay  were  strewn  with  hundreds  of  carcasses  of  dead  ani- 
'  mals.  We  had  a  very  hazardous  passage,  going  against  a  five 
mile  tide  running  out,  but  managed  to  reach  North  Galveston 
at  1.35. 

"  At  North  Galveston  we  found  that  a  tidal  wave  had  crossed 
the  peninsula,  carrying  destruction  in  its  path.  The  factor}^ 
building  and  the   opera  house  were   completely  blown  down  and 


196  DETAILS   OF   THE   OVERWHELMING  TRAGEDY. 

other  buildings  destroyed.  While  there  were  no  deaths  reported 
at  North  Galveston,  there  were  many  hardships  endured  by  those 
who  battled  with  the  elements." 

Dr.  I.  M.  Cline,  the  chief  of  the  weather  bureau  at  Galveston, 
lived  on  the  south  side  of  Avenue  Q,  between  Twenty-Fifth  and 
Twenty-Sixth  streets,  in  a  strongly  built  frame  house.  It  stood 
until  houses  all  around  it  had  gone  down,  and  at  last  it  had  to 
give  under  the  pressure  of  the  wind  and  waves  and  other  houses 
that  were  thrown  against  it,  and  with  it  about  fort}'-  people  went 
down,  two-thirds  of  whom  were  drowned,  among  the  number  his 
wife.  The  first  floor  was  elevated  above  the  high  water  mark  of 
1875,  and  Dr.  Cline  though  he  was  safe  there. 

He  left  his  office  and  went  to  his  home  and  family  early  in  the 

afternoon.     The   office  telephone    had  been  in  use  nearly  all  the 

morning    giving    warning    to    the  people  who  called    up   from 

exposed  points  along  the  beach  to  ask  about  the  outlook.  One  man 

was  posted  at  the  telephone  nearly  every  minute  of  the  time,  and 

to  each  inquiry  the  answer  was  sent  over  the  wire,  "  The  worst  is 

not  over  yet." 

LIVES  SAVED  BY  FLIGHT. 

Barometer  readings  of  this  tropical  terror  had  not  been  taken 
since  it  left  Havana  and  Key  West,  for  the  reason  that  it  was 
travelling  across  the  gulf  and  after  barometer  readings  could  have 
been  taken  nearer  Galveston  and  reported  here  communication 
was  shut  off.  But  the  weather  bureau  knew  the  worst  was  not 
over,  and  so  perhaps  thousands  along  the  beach  had  warning  and 
sought  safety  in  the  center  of  the  island  before  the  storm  broke 
here  in  its  fury.  This  partly  accounts  for  so  many  people  who 
lived  right  on  the  beach,  whole  families  in  instances,  being  saved, 
people  who  lost  everything  but  who  saved  their  lives,  while  others 
who  lived  in  stronger  buildings  nearer  in,  some  of  whom  had  ^ 
passed  through  the  1875  and  other  storms  though  of  course  they 
could  weather  it,  and  thus  v/ere  lost. 

When  the  waters  rushed  into  Dr.  Cline's  home  and  began  to 
rise  rapidly  he  realized  his  peril,  but  it  was  then  too  late  to  escape. 
His  brother,  also  of  the   weather  bureau,  Mr.  Joe  Cline,  came  to 


DETAILS   OF   THE   OVERWHELMING  TRAGEDY.  19? 

his  rescue  to  lielp  save  tlie  family  or  perisli  witli  them.  vStandiug 
on  his  brother's  front  porch  Mr.  Cline  motioned  to  the  neighbors 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  to  go  north,  meaning  to  get  out, 
for  no  voice  could  be  heard  across  the  street  in  the  teeth  of  that 
terrible  northeaster. 

This  was  the  last  warning  that  was  given,  and  then  the  chiet 
of  the  Weather  Bureau,  while  with  his  devoted  brother  and  their 
loved  ones  disappeared  within  their  own  homes  to  await  their 
doom.  It  was  not  mau}^  hours  coming.  Higher  and  higher  the 
water  rose,  and  they  mounted  the  second  floor  till  the  waves 
mounted  higher,  and  buildings  about  them  crashed  and  fell,  adding 
to  the  number  of  inmates  of  the  houses  others  who  had  been 
driven  out  and  were  seeking  safety. 

Finally,  the  building  gave  way  beneath  the  pressure  of  the 
wreckage  behind  it.  The  Cline  family  was  in  the  room  and  had 
resolved  to  go  by  threes.  Dr.  Cline  had  with  him  Mrs.  Cline  and 
their  little  6-year-old  girl,  Esther.  His  brother,  Joe,  took  charge 
of  the  two  older  girls.  As  the  house  went  over  Mr.  Joe  Cline 
and  his  charges  were  thrown  through  a  window  which  they  were 
near  and  they  caught  on  the  roof.  A  dresser  pushed  Dr.  Cline 
and  his  wife  against  the  mantle  and  his  little  one  was  knocked 
from  his  left  arm.     They  were  all  pinioned  beneath  the  roof. 

FOUND    IT   V^AS   THE    FOOT    OF    HIS    BABY. 

Dr.  Cline,  holding  to  his  wife,  prepared  for  death,  but  throw- 
ing his  left  hand  above  his  head,  felt  something  strike  his  hand 
He  grabbed  the  object  and  it  proved  to  be  one  foot  of  his  bab} 
*that  had  been  knocked  from  his  grasp  when  the  roof  fell  in.  The 
water  had  driven  her  little  body  to  the  surface  through  an  open- 
ing which,  although  in  an  almost  dying  condition,  he  realized. 
By  some  means — he  doesn't  know  how — he  was  released  from  the 
timbers  that  held  him  down,  and  he,  too,  was  sent  up  by  the  rush 
of  water  to  the  surface.  With  his  feet  and  arms  he  reached  for 
his  wife,  who  had  been  torn  from  his  grasp,  but  he  could  not  find 
her,  and  so  she  perished.  Their  experience  in  drifting  on  debris 
was  that  of  hundreds  of  others.     For   hours    they   were   tossed 


198  DETAILS   OF   THE   OVERWHELMING  TRAGEDY. 

about  on  the  raging  sea.  Part  of  the  time  they  think  they  were 
far  out  in  the  Gulf.  They  know  they  were  out  of  sight  of  lights 
and  buildings  much  of  the  time. 

Mr.  William  Blair,  a  member  of  the  Screwmen's  Association, 
with  a  party  of  twelve,  took  in  what  he  said  to  be  the  first  boat 
that  carried  news  from  the  mainland.  The  trip  this  party  made 
was  one  of  the  most  heroic  on  record.     Mr.  Blair  said  : 

ONE    LONE    HOUSE    STANDING. 

'*  We  were  caught  in  Houston  in  the  storm,  and  Sunday 
morning  as  soon  as  the  storm  abated  we  resolved  to  get  to  our 
families  and  friends  in  Galveston,  if  such  a  thing  was  possible. 
A  party  of  twelve  of  us  left  Houston  on  a  Southern  Pacific  train. 
We  got  as  far  as  Seabrook  and  there  we  found  everything  washed 
away,  and  dead  bodies  here  and  there.  One  lone  house  was 
standing.  Clear  Creek  bridge  had  been  washed  away  and  the 
railroad  track  was  turned  over.  We  went  back  to  Houston  and 
waited  there  till  4.40  P.  M.,  and  took  the  Galveston,  Houston 
and  Henderson  regular  train  and  succeeded  in  getting  as  far  as 
Lamarque. 

"The  whole  country  was  under  water,  but  we  decided  to  get 
to  Galveston  any  way  that  night.  We  pulled  out  towards  Virginia 
Point,  wading  in  water  up  to  our  necks,  some  times  swimming. 
At  one  place  it  got  so  deep  that  we  got  a  lot  of  drift  together  and 
constructed  a  sort  of  a  raft  and  ferried  over  the  places.  I  was 
about  to  forget  to  tell  you  that  one  of  our  party  was  a  woman,  a 
Miss  Beach.  She  had  a  sick  sister  in  Galveston  at  the  infirmary 
and  she  had  determined  to  get  to  her  if  possible.  That  brave  and 
fearless  women  kept  up  with  the  men  wading  and  swimming,  and  ' 
while  others  lagged  and  some  dropped  out  along  the  way,  she 
never  once  faltered,  and  I  have  never  before  seen  her  equal  for 
courage  and  determination. 

"There  were  six  of  us  when  we  got  to  Virginia  Point,  others 
had  turned  out  toward  Texas  City.  We  got  as  near  to  Virginia 
Point  as  we  could,  we  found  three  railroad  engines  there,  one  of 
them  turned  over.     There  were   some  cars   scattered  along  the 


DETAILS   OF   THE   OVERWHELMING  TRAGEDY.  193 

track  and  iu  one  caboose  were  some  injured  people.     A  portion  of 
our  party  stopped  there  to  do  what  they  could  for  them. 

"  We  found  dead  bodies  all  along  the  track,  three  and  four 
in  a  bunch,  all  women  and  children  with  perhaps  the  single 
exception  of  one  man.  These  bodies  were  strewn  from  the  Point  to 
Texas  City  and  they  were  there  by  the  hundreds,  it  seemed  to 
me — bodies  of  people  who  had  been  washed  and  blown  across  the 
bay  from  Galveston.  Some  of  the  people  who  had  made  that 
terrible  trip  across  the  bay,  driven  by  the  force  of  the  wind  and 
the  waves,  were  yet  alive. 

"  There  were  all  sorts  of  debris  and  wreckage  piled  up  and 
washing  along  the  mainland;  furniture  of  every  description, 
heavy  iron,  frames  of  pianos,  fine  plush-covered  furniture — every- 
thing was  there  to  be  seen.  The  remains  of  cattle  and  horses  and 
chickens  were  there  in  heaps  and  piles,  drifting  boxcars  had  been 
driven  three  miles  from  their  original  positions  and  turned  over 
and   blown  about. 

GATHERING    UP   THE    DEAD. 

"  Monday,  as  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  see,  we  started 
out  looking  for  skiffs — something  to  take  us  to  Galveston.  We 
did  not  find  a  skiff",  all  had  been  stove  in.  At  last  we  found  a 
negro  who  had  a  boat.  He  had  been  crippled.  Three  of  us, 
Miss  Beach  among  the  number,  took  passage  on  his  boat,  and  I 
took  charge  of  it.  The  remainder  of  our  party  stayed  at  Vir- 
ginia Point  until  the  arrival  of  a  sailboat  and  brought  a  relief 
party  to  Galveston  from  Houston.  A  relief  train  had  arrived, 
from  Houston,  bringing  members  of  the  fire  department,  the 
health  officer  and  count)-  officers,  with  provisions.  They  saw 
that  there  was  no  way  for  them  to  cross  and  so  they  remained 
and  began  the  work  of  gathering  and  bringing  the  dead  on  the 
mainland. 

"The  concrete  piers  of  the  county  bridge  we  found  washed 
away  in  mainland  and  we  saw  a  big  steamer  grounded  in  the 
West  Bay.  We  saw  a  fine  boat  about  thirty  feet  long  that  had 
made  the  trip  without  sailor  or  rudder  from  Galveston.     In  that 


200  DETAILS   OF   THE   OVERWHELMING  TRAGEDY. 

boat  I  was  told  a  drowning  family  took  refuge.  When  they  were 
nearly  over  a  wave  struck  it  and  threw  all  its  occupants  out 
except  one  man,  and  he  lauded  in  safety.  Claude  G.  Pond,  who 
was  with  Capt.  Plummer's  life  boat  during  the  storm,  estimates 
that  they  saved  200  people  in  the  east  end  from  drowning. 

"They  began  work  Saturday  afternoon  at  2  o'clock  and  kept 
it  up  as  long  as  they  could  do  any  good  in  the  east  end  from  First 
street  to  St.  Mary's  Infirmary.  Capt.  Plummer  waded  in  water 
up  to  his  chin,  and  in  places  was  swimming,  directing  the  move- 
ments of  the  boat,  Mobile  Mr.  Pond  and  Capt.  Plummer's  two  sons 
manned  the  boat. 

CLUNG    TO    THEIR    PROPERTY. 

"  Several  places  they  extended  rescue  and  the  people  declined 
to  go  expressing  the  belief  that  their  peril  was  not  so  great,  and 
preferring  to  remain  with  their  property.  Sometimes  they  would 
make  the  second  trip  to  such  places  and  sometimes  the  occupants 
would  be  saved  and  in  other  instances  they  had  tarried  too  long. 
Their  plan  was  to  carry  people  into  places  where  they  could  wade 
out  and  leave  them,  going  back  to  bring  others  to  shallow  water 
and  on  the  return  again  carrying  them  further  in. 

"  In  cases  where  parents  had  been  carried  out  to  wading 
water  aud  deposited,  they  would  stand  there  instead  of  pushing 
on,  looking  back  for  their  children,  and  it  sometimes  happened 
that  the  children  and  parents  both  went  down  while  one  waited 
for  the  other,  when,  if  the  parents  had  pushed  on  after 
they  had  reached  wading  water,  all  might  have  been  saved. 

"  One  of  the  last  loads  carried  out  was  about  to  land  in  front 

;  of  St.  Mary's  Infirmary,  when   a  piece  of  falling  timber  struck 

the  boat  and  capsized  it.     They  had  eight  or  nine   people  in  the 

boat,  and  when  they  succeeded  in  righting  it  they  could  find  only 

two  or  three. 

"  Mr.  Mennis  and  a  party  of  about  forty  people  took  refuge 
in  a  two-story  grocery  store  at  Fortj^-fifth  street  and  Broadway. 
When  the  roof  went  over  and  the  building  went  to  pieces,  Mr. 
Mennis    and    six    others    caught   on    drift.     They    were   driven 


DETAILS   OF   THE   OVERWHELMING  TRAGEDY.  201 

toward  the  beacli  into  tlie  gnlf,  and  wlien  tlie  wind  veered  to  tlie 
southeast  and  later  south,  they  were  driven  across  the  bay  and 
lauded  on  the  mainland  near  Texas  City.  Of  the  seven  who 
made  this  terrible  voyage  two  died  in  the  course  of  a  day.  Mr. 
Mennis  lost  his  mother  and  two  brothers. 

"  In  the  vicinity  of  Texas  City  sixty  bodies  supposed  to  be 
/from  Galveston  have  been  buried.  Nearly  all  were  women.  There 
was  no  means  of  identification,  except  possibly  by  jewelry,  which 
was  found  on  about  one-half  of  the  bodies." 

Prof.  Fred.  W.  Mally  reached  Houston  three  days  after  the 
storm,  and  in  reply  to  inquiries  related  some  thrilling  experiences. 
He  had  been  out  at  Booth,  in  Fort  Bend  County.  He  boarded  the 
7.15  P.  M.  Santa  Fe  train. 

TREETOPS  INTERRUPTED  PROGRESS  OF  TRAINS. 

"  At  Thompson,"  said  Prof.  Mally,  "  the  train  crew  stopped 
to  water  and  cool  off  a  hot  box,  and  by  the  time  we  started  again 
the  wind  was  blowing  a  gale.  There  is  no  wagon  road  along  the 
windward  side  of  the  right  of  w^ay  from  Thompson  to  Duke  or 
Clear  Lake.  The  result  was  that  as  we  passed  along  we  were 
kept  in  constant  suspense  of  disaster  by  the  treetops,  which  were 
being  bent  over  so  as  to  rasp  the  A^indows  as  the  train  passed  on. 

"  At  several  places  we  had  to  stop  and  cut  off  the  tops  of  all 
trees  in  order  to  get  through.  We  finally  reached  Duke,  which 
was  out  in  the  open  and  prairie  section.  Here  it  was  impossible 
to  proceed  farther,  and  the  train  stopped  to  await  the  end  of  the 
storm.  We  remained  here  until  about  t.  o'clock  in  the  morniu"- 
and  tried  to  get  to  Alvin.  The  first  station  out  was  Areola.  The 
dwellings  in  this  locality  were  a  complete  wreck,  and  only  the 
depot  remained  standing. 

A  TOWN  IN   RUINS. 

"  At  Manvel,  the  next  station,  the  ruin  seemed  even  worse. 
The  depot  had  been  completely  demolished  and  was  laying  across 
the  track.  Not  a  house  standing  in  good  condition.  We  came 
down  farther  within   three  miles  of  Alvin  and  found  the  track 


202  DETAILS   OF   THE   OVERWHELMING   TRAGEDY. 

washed  out.  The  agent  from  Alvin  and  the  section  boss  met  lis 
and  stated  that  Alvin  was  in  ruins  and  some  killed.  Not  being 
able  to  get  through,  we  backed  up  the  road,  hoping  to  reach 
Eichenberg. 

"  The  sight  of  seeing  men,  women  and  children  wading  waist 
deep  in  water  over  a  country  where  we  were  accustomed  to  seeing 
orchards  and  garden  patches  and  to  hear  the  cries  for  the  dear 
ones  missing  is  enough  to  unnerve  the  strongest.  Returning  to 
Duke  we  unloaded  again  those  we  had  saved  at  that  point  from 
the  storm. 

"  While  our  train  of  five  passenger  coaches  was  standing  on 
the  track  at  this  point  the  house  in  which  the  agent  was  living 
was  literally  blown  to  pieces.  His  wife  and  three  children  were 
with  him,  and  soon  the  furious  wind  was  tossing  and  rolling 
women  and  children  like  footballs  over  the  earth.  Men  from  tae 
train  faced  the  terrible  gale  and  succeeded  in  getting  all  on  the 
train  in  safety.  This  house  stood  within  seventy-five  yards  of  our 
train.  About  this  time  the  depot,  which  was  just  opposite  the  car 
I  was  in,  was  unroofed  and  split  apart  in  the  middle. 

WHOLE  FAMILY  SAVED  BY  TRAINMEN. 

"Soon  after  a  third  house,  200  feet  away,  was  blown  to  pieces 
and  a  man,  wife  and  three  children  saved  from  the  wreckage  by 
those  on  the  train.  We  reached  the  timbered  section  and  were 
soon  blocked  by  the  wreckage  of  fallen  trees  across  the  track. 
Kvcryone  who  could  wield  an  axe  got  one,  set  to  work  diligently 
to  cut  our  way  through.  At  the  same  time  a  large  crew  was 
working  from  Rosenberg  down  toward  us.  From  Thompson  to 
Duke  large  pecan,  elm,  oak  and  pine  trees  were  encountered  on 
an  average  every  100  feet. 

"  Arriving  at  Thompson,  we  found  Slavin's  store  a  perfect^ 
mass  of  ruin,  the  gin  a  partial  wreck  and  ni my  houses  blown 
down.  Here  the  first  victim  of  the  storm  and  train  was  placed 
on  board.  He  had  been  knocked  off  the  track  the  night  before 
and  had  his  leg  broken.  At  Booth,  Booth's  store  was  badly 
wrecked,  trees  blown    all   over   the   land,    several    houses    blown 


DETAILS    OF   THE    OVERWHELMING    TRAGEDY.  203 

dovn.  One  neg^ro  was  killed  in  a  fall  in  c:  lionse.  At  Crabb 
eveiything  was  blown  down,  and  we  readied  Rosenberg  at 
noon. 

"  We  had  many  dire  expectations  all  niglit,  worked  bard  all 
morning  and  bad  nothing  to  eat  since  snpj^er  the  night  before. 
I  reached  Honston  over  the  Macaroni  in  time  to  reach  my  nur- 
series and  people  at  Hnlen.  I  found  only  one  house  standing 
here  intact,  my  large  barn  and  packing  shed  are  damaged  but  not 
wrecked.  My  large  office  building  was  blown  from  its  foundation 
and  considerably  twisted,  but  left  it  so  my  manager  can  live  in  it 
with  his  family  until  something  else  can  pe  provided  for.  None 
of  my  employees  were  hurt,  and,  in  fact,  no   deaths  or  injuries  at 

Hulen." 

TERRIBLE  TALES  OF  VANDALISM. 

Passengers  who  arrived  at  Dallas  told  terrible  tales  of  the 
work  of  the  vandals  in  that  city.  According  to  them,  men 
inflamed  with  liquor  were  roaming  among  the  wreckage  over  the 
city  rifling  the  hundreds  of  bodies  of  even  the  clothing  and  leaving 
them  to  fester  in  the  semi-tropical  sun.  Much  of  this  horrible 
depredating,  it  is  claimed,  is  being  done  by  negroes,  who  will  not 
work  and  cannot  be  made  to  leave  town.  This  was  before  the 
saloons  were  closed. 

Among  those  who  arrived  from  Galveston  was  J.  N.  Griswold, 
division  freight  agent  of  the  Gulf,  Colorado  and  Sante  Fe  Railway. 
His  story  is  as  follows  : 

"  There  were  many  acts  of  vandalism.  Fingers  and  ears  that 
bore  diamonds  were  lopped  off  with  knives.  Upon  our  arrival  at 
Texas  city  I  saw  an  old  man  who  was  drunk.  Sticking  out  of  a 
pocket  in  his  pants  was  a  bank  deposit  book  full  of  bank  notes. 

"  I  asked  him  where  he  got  it.  He  said  he  found  it  on  the 
bank. 

"  '  How  much  have  you  got  ?"  I  asked  him.  "Oh,  about  twenty - 
seven  dollars,'  was  his  reply.  He  must  have  had  ,<?'everal  times 
that  amount  at  least. 

"  The  darkies  are  doing  most  of  the  pilfering.  Sunday  morn- 
ing before  daylight  they  were  breaking  into  warehouses  and  loot- 


204  DETAILS   OF   THE   OVERWHELMING   TRAGEDY 

ing  stores  and  saloons  particularl}^     Tlie  town  was  full  of  drunken 
negroes  Sunday  morning  at  da^diglit. 

"And  the  worst  of  it  is  that  nearl}^  all  the  soldiers  were  lost. 
Of  the  detachment  stationed  at  Galveston  I  don't  believe  there 
are  more  than  thirty  left.  At  present  the  crying  need  of  Gal- 
,  veston  is  water  and  ice — and  soldiers.  The  fresh  water  on  the 
''island  was  ruined  by  the  brine  from  the  sea.  The  ice  is  needed 
to  prevent  the  decomposition  of  the  corpses.  The  soldiers  are 
needed  to  keep  down  vandalism.  And  along  this  latter  line  I 
want  to  say  that  the  militia  must  come  quickly.  The  negroes 
should  be  sent  to  the  cotton  fields  of  north  Texas.  Those  who 
will  work  can  be  kept  there,  but  the  others  should  be  sent  awa}' 
just  as  soon  as  possible,  for  they  merely  eat  up  the  supplies  and 
are  a  constant  menace.  They  should  either  be  killed  or  made  to 
get  out,  for  one  or  the  other  is  the  grim  necessity  of  the  situation. 

FLOATING  BODIES  IN   THE  BAY. 

"  As  to  the  loss  of  life  in  Galveston,  I  can't  figure  it.  We 
counted  ninety-three  floating  bodies  on  our  way  from  the  wharf 
to  Texas  City.  The  prairies  across  the  bay  this  side  of  Galves- 
ton are  covered  with  piles  of  cotton  and  wreckage  of  all  descrip- 
tions— dead  bodies  and  the  like. 

"I  got  to  Galveston  at  lo  o'clock  Saturday  morning.  My 
wife  and  I  took  a  car  and  started  to  the  beach.  The  water  was 
rather  high  and  we  thought  we  would  have  a  jolly  good  time 
splashing  around.  When  we  got  within  five  blocks  of  the  beach 
the  motorman  stopped  his  car  and  said  that  he  could  go  no 
further.  We  came  back  downtown  and  got  on  another  car.  This 
time  we  could  get  within  but  seven  blocks  of  the  beach.  This 
shows  you  how  fast  the  water  was  rising. 

"We  got  back  to  the  Santa  Fe  ticket  of&ce  about  11.30 
o'clock,  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  wanted  to  go  over  to  the  gen- 
eral offices,  but  the  water  was  in  all  the  streets  and  I  waited 
awhile,  hoping  it  would  get  lower.  But  at  noon  it  was  between 
knee  and  hip  deep  in  front  of  the  Santa  Fe  ticket  office.  At  3 
o'clock  my  wife  and  I  waded  into  the  Washington  Hotel. 


DETAILS   OF  THE   OVERWHELMING  TRAGEDY.  205 

"  From  that  time  on  the  wind  grew  stronger.  At  5  o'clock 
the  water  was  six  feet  deep  in  the  lower  floor  of  the  Washington 
Hotel.  Why,  it  covered  the  telephone  box  in  the  office.  The 
wind  blew  not  less  than  ninety-five  miles  an  hour  from  then  until 
9.30  o'clock. 

"  The  first  rise  came  from  the  bay,  and  the  bay  rise  lasted^ 
until  about  8  P.  M.  Then  the  tide  from  the  Gulf  met  the  rise 
from  the  bay  and  forced  it  back.  That's  when  we  had  our  highest 
water.  And  I  want  to  say  to  you  right  now  that  but  for  those 
two  forces  meeting  there  wouldn't  be  a  stick  left  on  Galveston 
Island  to-day. 

"  About  9  o'clock  the  water  commenced  to  fall  rapidly,  and 
at  10  o'clock  the  wind  had  subsided  fully  50  per  cent.  The  dam- 
age had  all  been  done.  At  daylight  we  got  out  and  went  down  to 
the  beach.  From  the  beach  back  for  four  or  five  blocks  it  was 
just  as  clean  as  this  floor.  Up  and  down  the  island  there  was 
wreckage  as  high  as  this  ceiling.  This  had  something  to  dv^ 
with  breaking  the  force  of  the  water.  And  that  wreckage  was 
full  of  dead  bodies.  The  only  way  to  get  rid  of  it  is  to  burn 
it  with  the  bodies  in  it,   for  they  can  never  be  taken  out. 

MAKING  A  HURRIED  ESCAPE. 

"Monday  at  noon  we  left  the  wharf  on  the  sailboat  'Lake 
Austin'  in  company  with  five  others.  We  paid  $100  for  passage  to 
Texas  City.  The  names  of  those  in  the  party  were,  J.  A.  Kemp, 
of  Wichita  l*alls  ;  Henry  Sayles,  of  Abilene  ;  A.  W.  Boyd,  of 
Houston  ;  W.  A.  Frazer,  of  Dallas,  and  myself  and  my  wife. 
Mrs.  Griswold  was  the  first  woman  to  leave  the  island  after  the 
disaster.  We  landed  at  Texas  City  at  2.30,  caught  the  Texas 
Terminal  Railway  to  a  junction  with  the  Galveston,  Houston  and 
Henderson.  From  there  we  walked  for  a  mile  to  where  they  were 
repairing  the  track,  and  caught  a  freight  train  into  Houston, 
arriving  about  10.30  at  night. 

"  The  buildings  in  Galveston  that  are  not  totally  wrecked  are 
damaged  in  :  ticli  a  manner  that  I  believe  it  will  cost  as  much  to 
repair  them  a  ,  it  would  to  build  new  ones  outright.     There  is  not 


206  DETAILS  OF  THE  OVERWHELMING  TRAGEDY. 

a  church  left  standing.  The  general  offices  of  the  Santa  Fe  are 
badly  wrecked.  On  the  floor  next  to  the  top  some  of  the  inside 
door  casings  are  forced  out  of  the  frames,  and  the  entire  building 
will  have  to  be  replastered  before  it  will  be  safe  to  occupy.  The 
train  sheds  are  gone. 

"On  the  Mallory  wharves  is  a  conglomerated  pile  of  boxcars 
and  boats  and  cotton  wreckage  of  every  description.  The  Mal- 
lory liner' Comal '  arrived  there  just  after  the  storm,  and,  thank 
goodness,  the  crew  has  sense  enough  to  stay  on  board  the  boat. 
Dead  bodies  are  in  all  the  wreckage  under  the  wharf  just  like 
dead  rats.  The  Santa  Fe  officials  and  the  heads  of  the  different 
departments  in  the  general  offices,  so  far  as  reported,  are  all  safe. 
The  families  of  a  good  many  of  the  clerks  have  been  lost  entirely, 
and  in  other  instances  partially  so. 

"  The  Blum  family  came  to  the  Washington  Hotel  at  day- 
light Sunday  morning  with  nothing  on  them  but  shreds.  They 
hrd  lost  everything.  When  they  left  home  they  had  thousands 
of  dollars  worth  of  diamonds  on  their  persons.  These  were  all 
lost  in  their  battle  with  the  elements.  Their  bodies  were  a  mass 
of  bruises. 

"There  is  scarcely  a  stock  of  goods  in  Galveston  that  isn't  a 

total  loss.      But  the  Sealy  residence,  standing  even   as  it  does, 

where  it  seems  as  if  the  slightest  breeze  would  strike  it,  hasn't  a 

scratch  on  it. 

ENTIRE  FAMILIES  LOST. 

"The  brother  of  John  Paul  Jones,  the  general  agent  of  our 
road,  lost  his  entire  family.  Will  Labatt,  assistant  ticket  agent 
of  the  Santa  Fe,  lost  his  entire  family,  with  the  exception  of  his 
wife,  who  is  visiting  in  the  North.  He  turned  up  Sunday  morn- 
ing at  6  o'clock  more  dead  than  alive  and  covered  with  bruises 
and  cuts. 

"John  Paul  Jones,  the  general  agent  of  the  Santa  Fe,  suc- 
ceeded in  saving  his  family.  His  wife  was  very  sick,  but  he  saved 
her  by  swimming  accross  the  street  with  his  child  on  his  head 
and  his  wife  between  himself  and  another  person. 

"Mr.  Crane,  chief  rate  clerk  to  the  general  freight  agent  of 


DETAILS   OF   THE   OVERWHELMING   TRAGE'DY.  207 

the  road,  spent  the  entire  night  with  his  wife  on  the  roof  of  his 
residence.  His  wife  had  been  confined  abont  six  weeks  ago,  and 
in  addition  had  an  abscess  on  her  leg,  which  bent  it  nearly  double. 
They  were  saved.  He  was  a  mass  of  bruises.  His  heel  was 
crushed. 

''  I  don't  see  how  any  man  who  passed  Saturday  night  in 
Galveston  can  stay  there  and  make  it  his  home." 

W.  A.  Fraser,  of  Dallas,  general  deputy  of  the  Woodmen  of 
the  World  of  Texas,  arrived  in  Dallas  from  Galveston  where  he 
had  been  for  several  days.  He  stated  that  complete  as  are  the 
reports  published  in  "The  News,"  the  half  has  not  been  told  of  the 
terrible  calamity  that  has  visited  the  coast  country.  "  On  the 
approach  of  the  storm,"  he  said,  "I  tried  to  leave  on  the  Interna- 
tional and  Great  Northern  Railroad  at  1.30  o'clock,  but  found  that 
the  bridges  had  been  washed  away  and  the  water  had  risen  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  get  away  from  the  depot, 
where  I  took  shelter  with  about  150  other  persons  wh©  had  sought 
the  same  place  of  refuge. 

THE    CRIES    OF   THE    DYING. 

■'i  He  depot  was  badly  damaged,  but  no  lives  were  lost  there, 
although  bodies  were  floating  in  every  direction  and  the  cries  from 
the  dying  could  be  heard  almost  constantly.  When  daybreak 
came  Sunday  morning  the  sights  presented  were  something 
terrible.  It  was  hardly  possible  to  walk  along  the  streets  without 
tumbling  over  dead  bodies,  and  the  only  thing,  in  my  estimation, 
that  saved  the  city  from  being  completely  wiped  out  was  the  fact 
that  the  wind  blew  from  the  bay  during  the  first  part  of  the  night 
— blowing  the  water  up  through  town,  in  some  places  as  high  as 
fifteen  feet — and  the  wreckage  from  destroyed  houses  was  piled  up 
along  the  Gulf  front  to  a  height  of  forty  or  fifty  feet.  When  the 
wind  changed  and  blew  from  the  Gulf  this  wreckage  acted  as  a 
breakwater  and  kept  the  waves  from  w.ishing  everything  icito  the 
bay. 

'  As  soon  as  daylightappearedithe  work  of  rescue  commenced, 
but  it  was  soon  found  that  after  several   vacant  stores  and  all  the 


208  DETAILS   OF  THE   OVERWHELMING   TRAGEDY. 

undertaking  establishments  had  been  crowded  with  the  dead,  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  handle  them  in  this  wa}^  Barges  were 
employed  and  into  them  the  wagons  unloaded  the  bodies,  which 
were  taken  to  the  bay  and  there  deposited.  It  can  be  safely  said 
that  there  is  not  a  single  house  in  the  entire  town  that  has  not 
been  badly  damaged  in  some  way  and  there  are  whole  families  who 
will  never  be  heard  from  again. 

"  Looting  and  vandalism  are  rife  upon  the  island.  The  few 
soldiers  they  have  are  exhausted  and  unable  to  pioperly  guard  the 
city,  and  in  my  estimation  the  State  troops  should  be  sent  there 
at  once.  Cases  of  where  the  fingers  of  women  had  been  cut  off  so 
as  to  deprive  them  of  their  rings  and  their  ears  cut  to  get  the  ear- 
rings are  common.  It  is  a  hard  matter  to  get  a  negro  to  assist  in 
any  way  in  burying  the  dead,  as  they  all  seem  to  be  very  much 
interested  in  accumulating  all  the  wealth  they  can  possibly  get 
from  the  dead  and  from  the  wreckage. 

\A^HITE  MEN  AND  NEGROES  PLUNDER  TOGETHER. 

"They  are  not  alone  in  this,  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  white 
men  are  side  by  side  with  them  in  their  damnable  work.  Women 
could  be  seen  on  the  first  morning  after  the  flood  with  baskets 
over  their  arms  taking  everything  they  could  possibly  pick  up, 
without  regard  to  whom  it  belonged  to  or  what  its  value  might  be. 
What  the  city  needs  most,  in  my  estimation,  is  pure  water,  food 
and  able-bodied  men  who  are  willing  to  work,  so  the  bodies  can  be 
removed  from  the  wreckage  and  carried  from  the  island  and  the 
carcasses  of  animals  be  burned  or  disposed  of  as  quickly  as  possi- 
ble. Whatever  is  to  be  done  should  be  done  at  the  earliest  pos- 
ble  moment,  as  provisions  are  scarce  and  it  is  next  to  impossible 
to  get  fresh  water.  The  sewerage  system  is  also  ch»ked,  and  this 
combined  with  the  stenches  from  decaying  animal  matter  makes 
it  almost  impossible  for  people  to  exist  for  many  days. 

"  Immediately  on  my  arrival  here  a  meeting  of  the  Woodmen 
was  called  and  $200  in  cash  subscribed  and  turned  over  to  me,  and 
about  $2,00  more  pledged  to  be  placed  in  my  hands  on  demand. 
All  camps  throughout  the  State  are  requested  to  immediately  call 


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DETAILS   OF   THE   OVERWHELMING   TRAGEDY.  20!) 

meetings  and  forward  sucli  subscriptions  as  they  may  see  proper 
to  me  at  Dallas.  This  will  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  Woodmen 
and  their  families,  many  of  whom  are  in  absolute  want  and  dis- 
tress, and  we  hope  to  raise  at  least  $30,000,  which  is  less  than  $1 
each  from  our  members." 

From  Houston  came  the  following  heartrending  news  of  the 
Galveston  horror  two  days  after  it  occurred  : 

"  The  dreadful  fatality  of  Galveston  is  looking  worse,  in  the 
face  of  facts  brought  out  to-day.  Three  men,  who  reached  here 
this  morning,  tell  of  so  and  so  many  dead  bodies  being  found  in 
a  single  house  or  yard  or  on  one  block,  that  the  conclusion  is 
almost  irresistible  that  a  greater  number  than  1000  has  been  lost. 
They  tell  that  twenty  or  forty  or  a  hundred  were  lost  by  the  col- 
lapse of  a  single  large  house,  they  having  gathered  there  for 
safety,  but  they  are  unable  to  say  anything  about  the  hundreds  of 
small  houses  that  were  swept  away,  some  vacant,  of  course,  but 
many  occupied,  but  without  a  mark,  a  sign  or  a  memory  to  recall 
the  lost. 

NAMES    OF    DEAD    ^A^ILL    NEVER    BE    KNOWN. 

"The  outline  of  the  terrible  disaster  is  now  known  over  the 
United  States,  and  even  farther.  The  details  are  wanting ;  no 
list  of  names  approaching  completeness  can  be  had  for  weeks, 
and  it  is  almost  sure  that  a  complete  list  will  never  be  found.  As 
time  wears  along  the  names  of  different  persons  will  be  recalled 
by  those  who  were  neighbors,  and  they  will  be  set  down  on  the 
death  roll  that  will  be  made  up  ;  but  where  neighbors  do  not 
know  neighbors,  the  names  will  never  be  called,  and  the  identity 
of  the  lost  will  pass  with  eternity — without  recall  or  remem- 
brance. 

"This  city  and  her  people  are  devoting  themselves  assidu- 
ously to  relieving  the  unfortunates.  Her  business  men  are  losing 
not  a  moment.  They  thoroughly  realize  that  seconds  are  valu- 
able. Last  night  large  wagons  jostled  along  the  streets  with 
boxes  of  prepared   food  to  load   them  on   boats   and   cars.     The 

Mayor  has  sent  out   calls   to  the   large   cities   of  this    and   other 
u 


210  DETAILS   OF   THE    OVERWMF.LMIXG    Tl^AGEDY. 

States  for  immediate  lielp,  and  everybod}-  here  feels  that  the 
response  will  be  generons  and  speed}^  These  people  know  the 
justness  of  their  demand,  and  hence  their  confidence  in  getting 
the  answer, 

"  W.  O.  Ansley,  a  well  known  cotton  man  of  this  city, 
received  a  letter  this  morning,  brought  by  private  messenger, 
from  A.  W.  Simpson,  a  cotton  man  at  Galveston,  saying : 

"'It's  awful.  Not  a  complete  house  in  the  city.  Help 
urgently  needed.  Thousands  are  homeless.  P'ood  is  being  dis- 
Jributed  to  the  destitute,  but  lots  more  will  be  needed.'  " 

MISSING  ONES   SWELL  DEATH   LIST. 

A  newspaper  writer  who  got  through  from  Galveston,  made 
the  following  statement  :  "  The  condition  at  Galveston  is  heart- 
rending in  the  extreme  for  the  injured,  and  it  grows  worse 
momentarily.  The  list  of  the  dead  will  not  be  fully  known  for 
weeks  ;  the  list  of  the  missing  will  swell  rapidly  as  soon  as  the 
people  have  begun  to  report  their  losses  to  the  authorities,  and 
gradually  this  list  of  missing  will  change  into  the  list  of  dead 
as  the  bodies  are  recovered  from  the  ruins  in  the  city  or  are 
picked  up  on  the  beach  of  the  mainland,  where  many  of  them 
now  lie,  it  is  believed.  A  meeting  was  held  Sunday  morning  at 
the  Tremont  Hotel,  and  at  this  meeting  measures  were  considered 
for  the  relief  of  the  stricken. 

"  The  conclusion  v/as  quickly  reached  that  the  citizens  are 
not  equal  to  the  task,  notwithstanding  their  willingness,  and  an 
appeal  for  aid  was  made  to  the  President  and  the  Governor.  The 
messages  have  already  gone  to  them,  and  will  probably  be  made 
public  all  over  the  country  by  this  afternoon.  But  no  tard}/  aid 
will  suffice.      It  is  present  necessity  that  must  be  met." 

H.  Van  Eaton,  who  travels  for  a  Dallas  firm,  arrived  from 
Galveston,  where  he  spent  the  perilous  hours  during  the  storm. 
He  reached  that  city  Saturday  morning  and  was  unable  to  cross 
to  the  mainland  until  Sunday  afternoon. 

"Just  after  it  started  to  rain,"  he  said  last  night,  "  several  of 
us  thought  we  would  walk  down  to  the  beach,  but  on  seeing  our 


DETAILS   OF   THE   OVERWHELMING   TRAGEDY.  21; 

danger  decided  to  return  to  tlie  hotel,  which  we  succeeded  in 
doing  by  wading  in  water  waist  deep.  Inside  of  a  few  minutes 
the  women  and  children  began  to  come  to  the  hotel  for  refuge. 
All  were  panic  stricken.  I  saw  two  women,  one  with  a  child,  try- 
ing to  get  to  the  hotel.  They  were  drowned  within  three  hundred 
yards  of  us. 

"  After  the  worst  was  over  in  Galveston  we  went  over  to  Vir- 
ginia Point,  which  cost  us  ;$i5  each.  When  we  got  over  there  we 
found  a  caboose  and  an  engine  chained  together  with  some  tweuty- 
■five  people  in  it.  While  we  were  in  the  caboose  three  bodies,  two 
men  and  a  child,  drifted  against  the  car  and  we  tied  them  to  one 
end  to  keep  them  from  floating  away.  We  saw  fourteen  bodies 
there,  all  having  floated  across  the  channel  and  all  more  or  less 
disfigured  from  coming  in  contact  with  so  much  wreckage. 
Most  of  them  were  women  and  children. 

"  We  walked  six  miles  from  Virginia  Point,  swimming  at 
Intervals,  in  order  to  catch  the  relief  train,  which  could  not  come  in 
further  from  washouts.  We  met  people  coming  and  going.  A 
party  of  twelve  persons,  including  one  woman,  had  built  a  raft 
and  were  intending  to  cross  to  Galveston.  We  saw  three  launches 
six  miles  inland,  north  of  Virginia  Point  on  the  bald  prairie. 
Only  one  of  them  seemed  to  have  an3^one  in  it.  We  reached 
Houston  at  3.30  this  morning.  There  are  only  two  houses  in  any- 
thing like  perfect  condition  between  Houston  and  Galveston. 
From  Houston  up  to  Hearne  things  were  badly  torn  up.  The 
whole  east  end  of  Galveston  and  the  entire  west  end  are  completely 
gone." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Galveston  Calamity  One    of  the  Greatest  Known    to  His- 
tory— Many  Thousands  Maimed   and  Wounded — 
Few  Heeded  the  Threatening  Hurricane — The 
Doomed  City  Turned  to  Chaos. 

GALVESTON  has  been  the  scene  of  one  of  the  greatest  catas- 
trophies  in  the  world's  history.  The  story  of  the  great  storm 
of  Saturday,  Sept.  8,  1900,  will  never  be  told.  Words  are  too  weak 
to  express  the  horror,  the  awfulness  of  the  storm  itself,  to  even 
faintly  picture  the  scene  of  devastation,  wreck  and  ruin,  misery, 
suffering  and  grief.  Even  those  who  were  miraculously  saved  after 
terrible  experiences,  who  were  spared  to  learn  that  their  families 
and  property  had  been  swept  away,  and  spared  to  witness  scenes 
as  horrible  as  the  eye  of  man  ever  looked  upon — even  these  can 
not  tell  the  story. 

There  are  stories  of  wonderful  rescues  and  escapes,  each  of 
which  at  another  time  would  be  a  marvel  to  the  rest  of  the  world, 
but  in  a  time  like  this  when  a  storm  so  intense  in  its  fury,  so  pro- 
longed in  its  work  of  destruction,  so  wide  in  its  scope,  and  so 
infinitely  terrible  in  its  consequences  has  swept  an  entire  city  and 
neighboring  towns  for  miles  on  either  side,  the  mind  caa  not  com- 
prehend all  of  the  horror,  can  not  learn  or  know  all  of  the  dread- 
ful particulars. 

One  stands  speechless  and  powerless  to  relate  even  that  which 
he  has  felt  and  knows.  Gifted  writers  have  told  of  storms  at  sea, 
wrecking  of  vessels  where  hundreds  were  at  stake  and  lost.  That 
task  pales  to  insignificance  when  compared  with  the  task  of  telling 
of  a  storm  which  threatened  the  lives  of  perhaps  sixty  thousand 
people,  sent  to  their  death  perhaps  six  thousand  people,  and  left 
others  wounded,  homeless,  and  destitute,  and  still  others  to  cope 
with  grave  responsibility,  to  relieve  the  stricken,  to  grapple  with 
and  prevent  the  anarchist's  reign,  to  clear  the  water-sodden  laud 

919 

^4  1  w 


DOOMED   CITY  TURNED  TO   CHAOS.  213 

of  putrefying  bodies  and  dead  carcasses,  to  perform  tasks  that  try 
men's  souls  and  sicken  their  hearts. 

The  storm  at  sea  is  terrible,  but  there  are  no  such  dreadful 
consequences  as  those  which  have  followed  the  storm  on  the  sea 
coast  and  it  is  men  who  passed  through  the  terrors  of  the  storm, 
who  faced  death  for  hours,  men  ruined  in  property  and  bereft  of 
'.families,  who  took  up  the  herculean  and  well-nigh  impossible 
task  of  bringing  order  out  of  chaos,  of  caring  for  the  living  and 
disposing  of  the  dead  before  they  made  life  impossible  here. 

The  storm  came  not  without  warning,  but  the  danger  which 
chreatened  was  not  realized,  not  even  when  the  storm  was  upon 
the  city.  Friday  night  the  sea  was  angry.  Saturday  morning  it 
had  grown  in  fury,  and  the  wrecking  of  the  beach  resorts  began. 
The  waters  of  the  Gulf  hurried  inland.  The  wind  came  at  terrific 
rate  from  the  north.  Still  men  went  to  their  business  and  about 
their  work  while  hundreds  went  to  the  beach  to  witness  the  grand 
spectacle  which  the  raging  sea  presented. 

WATERS  CREPT  HIGHER  AND  HIGHER. 

As  the  hours  rolled  on  the  wind  gained  in  velocity  and  the 
w?i.ers  crept  higher  and  higher.  The  wind  changed  from  the 
north  to  the  northeast  and  the  water  came  in  from  the  bay,  filling 
the  streets  and  running  like  a  millrace.  Still  the  great  danger 
was  not  realized.  Men  attempted  to  reach  home  in  carriages, 
wagons,  boats,  or  any  way  possible.  Others  went  out  in  the  storm 
for  a  lark.  As  the  time  wore  on  the  water  increased  in  depth  and 
the  wind  tore  more  madly  over  the  island. 

Men  who  had  delayed  starting  for  home,  hoping  for  an 
abatement  of  the  storm,  concluded  that  the  storm  had  grown 
worse  and  went  out  in  that  howling,  raging,  furious  storm, 
wading  through  water  almost  to  their  necks,  dodging  flying 
missiles  swept  by  a  wind  blowing  loo  miles  an  hour. 

Stili  the  wind  increased  in  velocity,  when,  after  it  seemed 
impossible  that  it  should  be  more  swift,  it  changed  from  west  to 
southeast,  veering  constantly,  calming  for  a  second  and  then  com- 
ing with  awful   terrific  jerks,  so  terrible  in   their  power  that  no 


214  DOOMED   CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS- 

building  could  willistaud  tliem  and  none  Mdiolly  escaped  injury. 
Others  were  picked  up  at  sea.  And  all  during  the  terrible 
storm  acts  of  the  greatest  heroism  were  performed.  Hundreds 
and  hundreds  of  brave  men,  as  brave  as  the  world  ever  knew, 
buffeted  with  the  waves  and  rescued  hundreds  of  their  fellow  men. 
Hundreds  of  them  went  to  their  death,  the  death  that  they  knew 
they  must  inevitably  meet  in  their  efforts.  Hundreds  of  them 
perished  after  saving  others.  Men  were  exemplifying  that  supreme 
degree  of  love  of  which  the  Master  spoke,  "  Greater  love  hath  no 
man  than  this,  that  he  give  his  life  for  his  friend."  Many  of  them 
who  lost  their  lives  in  this  storm  in  efforts  to  save  their  families, 
many  to  save  friends,  many  more  to  help  people  of  whom 
they  had  never  heard.  Tney  simply  knew  that  human 
beings     were    in    danger    and    they    counted    their    own     lives 

TREMENDOUS  FURY  OF  THE  GALE. 

The  maximum  velocity  of  the  wind  will  never  be  known. 
The  eauQfe  at  the  Weather  Bureau  reoistered  loo  miles  an  hour 
and  blew  away  at  5.10  o'clock,  but  the  storm  at  that  hour  was  as 
nothing  when  compared  with  what  followed,  and  the  maximum 
velocity  must  have  been  as  great  as  1 20  miles  an  hour.  The 
most  intense  and  anxious  time  was  between  8.30  and  9  o'clock, 
with  raging  seas  rolling  around  them,  with  a  wind  so  terrific  that 
none  could  hope  to  escape  its  fury,  with  roofs  beginning  to  roll 
away  and  buildings  crashing  all  around  them,  men,  women  and 
children  were  huddled  in  buildings,  caught  like  rats,  expecting  to 
be  crushed  to  death  or  drowned  in  the  sea,  yet  cut  off  from  escape. 

Buildings  were  torn  down,  burying  their  hundreds,  and  were 
swept  inland,  piling  up  great  heaps   of  wreckage.     Hundreds  of  ■ 
people  were  thrown  into  the  water  in  the   height  of  the  storm, 
some  to  meet  instant  death,  others  to   struggle  for  a  time  in  vain,' 
and  thousands  of  others  to  escape  death   in    most  miraculous  and 
marvelous  ways. 

Hundreds  of  the  dead  were  washed  across  the  island  and  tlie 
bay  many  miles  inland.  Hundreds  of  bodies  were  buried  in  the 
wreckage.      Many  who  escaped  were  in  the  water  for  hours,  cling- 


DOOMED   CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS,  2' 3 

ing  to  driftwood,  and  landed  bruised  and  battered  and  torn  on  tbe 
mainland. 

All  attempts  at  burying  tlie  dead  lias  been  utterly  abandoned, 
and  bodies  are  now  being  disposed  of  in  the  swiftest  manner  pos- 
sible. Scores  of  tliem  were  burned  tlie  i2tli,  and  hundreds  wer? 
taken  out  to  sea  and  thrown  overboard.  The  safety  of  the  living 
is  now  the  paramount  question,  and  nothing  that  will  tend  to  pre- 
vent the  outbreak  of  an  awful  pestilence  is  being  neglected. 

This  morning  it  was  found  that  large  numbers  of  the  bodies 
which  had  previously  been  thrown  in  the  bay  were  washed  back 
upon  the  shore  and  the  situation  was  rendered  worse  than  before 
they  were  first  laden  in  the  barges  and  thrown  into  the  water. 

TOO  MANY  ON  THE  COMMITTEE. 

Relief  committees  from  the  interior  of  the  State  have  com- 
menced to  arrive,  and,  as  usual,  they  are  much  too  large  in  num- 
bers, and  to  a  certain  extent  are  in  the  way  of  the  people  of 
Galveston,  and  an  impediment  to  the  prompt  relief  which  they 
themselves  are  so  desirous  of  offering.  Several  of  the  relief  expe- 
ditions have  had  committees  large  enough  to  consume  lo  per 
cent,  of  the  provisions  which  they  brought.  The  relief  sent  here 
from  Be^inout,  Tex.,  arrived  this  morning  and  was  distributed 
as  fast  asllossible.  It  consisted  of  two  carloads  of  ice  and  pro- 
visions, ami  came  by  way  of  Port  Arthur. 

The  great  trouble  now  seems  to  be  that  those  people  who  are 
in  the  greatest  need  are,  through  no  fault  of  those  in  charge  of 
the  distribution,  the  last  to  receive  aid.  Many  of  them  are  so 
badly  maimed  and  wounded  that  they  are  unable  to  apply  to  the 
relief  committee,  and  the  committees  are  so  overwhelmed  b}^ 
direct  applications  that  they  have  been  unable  to  send  out  mes- 
sengers. 

The  wounded   everywhere   are   still  needing  the  attc-ntion  of 
physicians,  and  despite   every  effort  it   is   fe-ared  that  a  number 
will  die  because  of  the  sheer  physical  impossibilit}-  to  afford  them. 
the   aid  necessary  to  save  their  lives.     Every  man  in  Galveston 
who  i.'    able  to  walk  and  work   is   engaged  in   the  work   of  relief 


216  DOOMED   CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS. 

with  all  the  energy  of  wliich  lie  is  capable.  But,  despite  tlieii 
utmost  endeavors,  they  cannot  keep  up  with  the  increase  in  the 
miserable  conditions  which  surround  them.  Water  can  be 
obtained  by  able-bodied  men,  but  with  great  difficulty. 

Dr.  Wallace  Shaw,  of  Houston,  who  is  busily  engaged  in  the 
^•elief  work,  said  that  there  were  200  people  at  St.  Mary's  Infirm-^ 
ary  M'ithout  fresh  water.  They  had  been  making  coffee  of  salt, 
water  and  using  that  as  their  only  beverage.  Very  little  stealing 
was  reported  and  there  were  no  killings.  The  number  of  men 
shot  down  for  robbing  the  dead  proved  a  salutary  lesson,  and  it 
is  not  expected  that  there  will  be  any  more  occurrences  of  this 
sort-  The  soldiers  of  the  regular  army  and  of  the  national  guard 
are  guarding  the  property,  and  it  is  impossible  for  thieves  to 
escape  detection. 

SOLDIERS  HAVE  MIRACULOUS  ESCAPE. 

The  loss  of  life  among  the  soldiers  of  the  regular  army  sta- 
tioned in  the  barracks  on  the  beach  proves  to  have  been  largely 
overestimated.  The  original  report  was  that  but  fifteen  out  of  the 
total  number  in  the  barracks  on  the  beach  had  been  saved.  Last 
night  and  to-day  they  turned  up  singly  and  in  squads,  and  at 
present  there  are  but  twenty-seven  missing,  whereas  the  first 
estimate  of  casualties  in  this  direction  alone  was  nearly  two  hun- 
dred.  Jt  it  probable  that  some  of  the  twenty-seven  will  answer 
roll  call  later  in  the  week. 

One  soldier  reached  the  city  this  afternoon  who  had  been 
blown  around  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  had  floated  nearly  fifty 
miles  going  and  coming,  on  a  door.  Another  one  who  showed  up 
to-day  declared  that  he  owed  his  life  to  a  cow.  It  swam  with  him 
nearly  three  miles.  The  cow  then  sunk  and  the  soldier  swam  the 
balance  of  the  way  to  the  mainland  himself. 

Efforts  were  made  this  afternoon  to  pick  up  the  dead  bodies 
that  have  floated  in  with  the  tide,  after  having  been  once  cast  into 
tke  sea.  This  is  awful  work,  and  few  men  are  found  with  suffi- 
ciently strong  nerves  to  last  it  more  tlian  thirty  minutes  zt  a  time. 
All  of  the  bodies  are  badly  decomposed,  swollen  to  enormous  pro- 


DOOMED   CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS.  217 

portions  and  of  so  dark  a  Hue  that  it  is  possible  to  tell  onl}.  by  the 
hair,  when  any  hair  is  visible,  whether  the  corpses  are  those  of 
white  people  or  negroes. 

Gen.  McKibben  U.  S.  A.,  and  Adjt  Gen.  Scurry  arrived  last 
night  and  have  assumed  entire  charge  of  the  city,  with  the  result 
I  that  conditions  have  very  much  improved  as  far  as  order  and 
method  in  the  distribution  of  supplies  and  the  direction  of  the 
work  is  concerned.  Gen.  McKibben  represents  the  government 
in  a  general  way,  but  has  not  assumed  direct  charge  of  the  city, 
which  is  under  the  command  of  Adjutant  Gen.  Scurry. 

Several  of  the  very  young  soldiers  have  been  a  trifle  over- 
zealous  in  the  matter  of  guarding  the  property,  carrjdng  their 
energy  to  a  point  which  made  it  somewhat  uncomfortable  for  the 
people  whose  property  and  person  they  came  to  guard.  Gen. 
Scurry  repressed  them  promptly  and  several  of  them  have  been 
disarmed.  The  service  of  the  militia,  on  the  whole,  however,  has 
so  far  been  of  a  most  excellent  character. 

SIGHT-SEERS  BARRED  OUT. 

Every  effort  is  being  made  to  induce  people  to  leave  Galve..  - 
ton,  and  it  is  extremely  diflicult  for  anyone,  no  matter  what  his 
business,  unless  he  is  in  direct  charge  of  a  relief  train,  to  gain 
admittance  to  the  place.  Hundreds  of  people  left  Houston  to-day 
for  Galveston,  but  could  get  no  further  than  Texas  City,  which 
is  on  the  north  side  of  Galveston  Bay,  and  there  they  were  com- 
pelled to  remain  until  the  train  brought  them  back  to  Houston. 
No  persuasion,  no  sum  of  money,  would  induce  the  guard  to  pass 
them  into  the  stricken  city. 

Orders  had  been  issued  that  no  sightseers  were  to  be  allowed, 
and  the  order  was  obeyed  with  the  utmost  rigidity.  It  will  be  at 
least  a  week  before  there  is  full  and  free  communication  with  Gal- 
veston, but  matters  are  now  steadil}^  progressing  toward  a  solu- 
tion of  the  problems  that  confront  the  relief  committee.  Every 
effort  is  being  made  to  induce  people  to  leave,  and  one  train, 
which  arrived  in  Houston  at  5  o'clock  this  evening,  carried  350 
women  and  children  ;  another  at  10  o'clock  carried  twice  a-s  man3' 


218  DOOMED  CITY  TURNED  TO   CHAOS. 

more,  and  it  is  expected  that  fully  2,000  of  tlie  women  and  cliil- 
dren  will  be  out  of  the  place  by  to-morrow  night.  Mayor  Jones 
estimates  that  there  are  at  least  10,000  of  these  helpless  ones 
who  should  be  taken  from  Galveston  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment.  They  are  all  apparently  anxious  to  get  away  and  will 
be  handled  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

Another  trainload  of  provisions  and  clothing,  making  the 
third  within  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  came  here  from  Houston 

to-night. 

The  steamer  Charlotte  Allen  arrived  at  noon  to-day  from 
Houston  with  1000  loaves  of  bread  and  other  provisions.  The 
amount  of  food  which  has  been  sent  so  far  has  been  large,  but 
there  are  still  in  the  neighborhood  of  30,000  people  to  be  cared 
for  on  the  island. 

BOYS  RESCUE  FORTY  PEOPLE. 

During  the  storm  Saturday  night,  the  Boddinker  boys,  with 
the  aid  of  a  hunting  skiff,  rescued  over  forty  people  and  took 
them  to  the  University  building,  where  they  found  shelter  from 
the  wind  and  waves.  The  little  skiff  was  pushed  by  hand,  the 
boys  not  being  able  to  use  oars  or  sticks  in  propelling  it,  and  is 
to  be  set  aside  in  the  University  as  a  relic  of  the  flood. 

Many  stories  of  heroism  are  coming  out.  People  tell  of  get- 
ting out  of  their  houses  just  before  the  roof  fell  in  on  them. 
They  tell  of  seeing  people  struck  by  flying  timbers  and  crushed 
*.cj  death  before  their  eyes.  One  man  was  cut  off  from  his  family 
'just  as  he  had  them  rescued,  and  saw  them  sink  beneath  the 
water,  just  on  the  other  side  of  the  barrier.  He  turned  in  and 
helped  to  rescue  others  who  were  about  gone.  One  woman  car- 
ried her  five  month's  old  baby  in  her  arms  from  her  house  only 
to  have  a  beam  strike  the  child  on  the  head,  killing  it  instantly. 
She  suffered  a  broken  leg  and  bruised  body. 

The  lightship,  which  was  moored  between  the  jetties  at  tlie 
point  where  the  harbor  bar  was  located  before  it  was  removed,  was* 
carried  to  Half  Moon   Shoal  and  grounded.     There  was  nobodv 
aboard  exceDt   i^'[ate  Emil   C.  Lund  wall,  the  cook  and  two  men. 


DOOMED   CITY  TURNED   TO   CHAOS.  219 

She  broke  lier  moorings  and  with  a  1500  pound  anchor  and  600 
fathoms  of  2-inch  cable  chain,  drifted  to  the  point  where  she 
grounded,  a  distance  of  about  four  miles. 

The  damage  to  the  lightship  was  slight,  consisting  prin- 
cipally of  broken  windows.  The  mate  showed  himself  to  be  a 
skillful  seaman  and  managed  to  save  the  vessel  by  his  skill  as 
such. 

Along  the  whole  Hast  Sealy  avenue  the  oak  trees  have  been 
partly  dragged  up  by  the  roots  and  brittle  chinaberry  trees  are 
practically  all  gone.  All  the  tender  plants  have  been  washed  out 
or  broken  down  by  debris  or  blown  away  literally.  Not  a  tree  is 
standing  in  its  natural  attitude.  Not  a  building  in  the  Hast  end 
escaped  injury.  One  or  two,  like  that  of  Capt.  Charles  Clark,  suf- 
fered but  the  loss  of  a  few  slat  shingles  while  others  were  torn 
from  their  foundations. 

TWISTED    INTO    ALL    SORTS    OF    SHAPES. 

They  were  carried  around  and  twisted  into  such  shapes  that 
they  can  not  be  occupied  again  although  they  can  be  entered  and 
the  sodden  furniture  and  bedclothing  removed.  This  applies  to 
buildings  that  are  still  standing.  As  stated,  there  is  a  vast  ter- 
ritory of  blocks  in  width  on  which  there  is  not  a  vestige  of  a  house 
standing,  these  having  been  blown  down  and  carried  away  with 
the  other  debris. 

Dr.  J.  T.  Fry,  who  has  been  an  observer  of  the  weather  for 
years,  has  a  theory  that  the  storm  which  visited  Galveston  origi- 
nated in  the  vicinity  of  Port  Hads,  and  was  not  the  hurricane 
which  was  reported  on  the  Florida  coast.  On  Thursday  a  storm 
was  reported  moving  in  a  northeasterly  direction  from  Ke}^  West. 
It  moved  up  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  Mallory  steamer  "Comal" 
ran  into  it  and  reported  a  great  number  of  wrecks  as  was  reported 
in  the  "News"  at  thetinie.  The  supposition  that  this  was  the 
same  storm  that  reached  Galveston  by  doubling  back  on  its  tracks 
is  a  mistake. 

The  first  knowledge  of  the  Galveston  storm  was  the  report  o£ 
a  wind  velocity  of  forty-eight  miles  an  hour  at  Port  Hads  on  Sat- 


220  DOOMED   CITY  TURNED   TO   CHAOS. 

urday  morning.  The  "News"  also  reported  high  winds  at  Pass 
Cliristian.  The  Port  Eads  storm  was  a  distinct  storm  from  that 
of  Florida  and  was  confined  to  the  Gulf.  The  proof  of  this  is  that 
the  steamer  "  Comal  "  came  in  from  Florida  in  beautiful  weather 
and  apparently  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  storm. 

Eighteen  people  were  caught  in  the  Grothger  grocery  store, 
(Sixteenth  and  N  streets,  and  it  is  presumed  all  were  lost,  as  many^ 
have  been  reported  dead  who  were  known  to  have  been  in  the 
building  which  was  swept  away  entirely.  The  firemen  buried 
twenty-six  people  south  of  Avenue  O,  between  Thirty-Third  and 
and  Forty-Second  streets,  on  Tuesday.  The  graves  were  marked 
with  pieces  of  the  garments  worn  by  the  persons. 

Will  Love,  a  printer  of  the  "Houston  Post,"  who  formerly  lived 
in  Galveston,  swam  the  bay  Monday  to  reach  his  family,  whom  he 
found  to  be  alive  in  Galveston.  He  swam  from  pier  to  pier  on  the 
railroad  bridges  and  at  each  he  rested. 

AWFUL  NIGHT  IN  THE  LIGHTHOUSE. 

In  the  Bolivar  lighthouse,  which  stands  130  feet  high  on 
Bolivar  Point,  across  the  bay  from  Galveston,  some  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  people  sought  refuge  from  the  storm  on  Saturday 
evening.  Many  of  the  unfortunates  had  deserted  their  homes, 
which  wer<i  swept  by  the  hurricane,  and  other  residents  of  Gal- 
veston, who  had  come  to  the  bay  shore  in  their  frantic  endeavors 
to  reach  Galveston  and  their  families.  Among  the  latter  was 
County  Road  and  Bridge  Superintendent  Kelso.  Mr.  Kelso 
stated  to  a  "  News "  reporter,  when  he  reached  Galveston  on 
\  Monday  afternoon,  after  having  been  carried  across  the  bay  in  a 
small  skiff  by  Mr.  T.  C.  Moore,  that  the  hundred  and  more 
refugees  spent  an  awful  night  in  the  lighthouse  Saturday  night 
^during  the  life  of  the  hurricane. 

The  supply  of  fresh  water  was  soon  exhausted  and  an  effort 
was  made  to  secure  drinking  water  by  catching  rain  water  in 
buckets  suspended  from  the  top  of  the  lighthouse.  The  experi- 
ment was  a  success  in  a  way,  but  it  demonstrated  a  remarkable 
incident  to   show  the   force  of  the  wind.      The  bucket  was  soon 


DOOMED   CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS.  221 

filled  with  water,  but  it  was  salty  and  could  not  be  used.  Several 
attempts  finally  resulted  in  a  fresli  water  supply  to  quench  the 
thirst  of  the  feverishly  excited  refugees. 

The  salt  water  was  shot  skyward  over  130  feet  and  mingled 
with  the  rain  water  that  fell  in  the  buckets.  From  the  top  of  the 
iight  tower  several  of  the  more  venturesome  storm-sufferers 
viewed  the  destructive  work  of  the  wind  on  Galveston  Island. 
Twelve  dead  bodies  were  recovered  near  the  lighthouse. 

Mr.  A.  Mutti,  a  storekeeper,  lost  his  life  after  a  display  of 
heroism  that  won  for  him  the  honors  of  a  martyr.  When  the. 
storm  struck  the  city  he  hitched  up  a  one-horse  cart  and  started 
out  to  rescue  his  neighbors.  Cartload  after  cartload  he  carried  in 
safety  to  fire  company  house  No.  5.  On  three  occasions  his  cart- 
load of  human  beings,  some  half  dead,  others  crazed  with  fright, 
was  carried  for  blocks  by  the  raging  currents,  but  he  landed  all 
the  unfortunates  in  the  fire  house,  even  to  his  last  load,  when  he 
met  his  death.  As  he  attempted  to  pass  into  the  building  on  his 
last  trip  the  firehouse  succumbed  to  the  wind  and  collapsed. 
Some  of  the  wreckage  struck  poor  Mutti  and  he  was  mortally 
injured.     He  lingered  for  several  hours. 

GENEROUS  OFFER  OF  HELP. 

Prof  Buckner,  of  the  Buckner  Orphans'  Home  of  Dallas, 
arrived  in  the  city  and  made  his  way  at  once  to  the  gentlemen 
in  charge  of  the  relief  work.  He  offered  to  throw  the  doors  of 
his  establishment  wide  open  for  the  orphans  of  Galveston,  who 
have  been  deprived  of  their  shelter  at  the  various  asylums,  and 
announced  that  he  was  ready  to  care  for  about  100  to  150  of  the 
children.  His  offer  was  taken  under  consideration  for  advisement 
at  a  meeting  to  be  held  of  the  managers  of  the  homes. 

The  of&cial  records  of  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau 
have  been  made  up  and  forwarded  to  Washington.  The  reports 
give  some  very  valuable  additional  inform?/ion  about  the  storm. 
Unfortunately  the  recording  instruments  were  destroyed  or  crip- 
pled beyond  operation  about  5:10  p.  m.  on  Saturday,  as  previously 
reported,  and  before  the  storm  had  reached  the  center  of  severity. 


222  DOOMED  CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS. 

The  wind  gauge  recorded  a  two-minute  blow  at  the  rate  of  lOO 
miles  an  hour  and  was  then  demolished  by  the  hurricane,  which 
continued  to  increase  in  violence.  While  the  exact  velocity  of  the 
wind  was  not  recorded  after  the  destruction  of  the  instruments, 
the  Weather  Bureau  representatives  estimate  the  maximum 
velocity  at  between  iio  and  120  miles  an  hour.  It  did  not  main- 
tain this  terrific  rate  for  any  length  of  time,  probably  a  half  min- 
ute or  minute  gusts,  but  sufficient  to  wreck  anything  that  met  the 
full  force  of  the  storm. 

A  journal  of  the  local  office  of  the  Weather  Bureau  contains 
the  report  of  an  apparent  tidal  wave  of  four  feet  which  swept  in 
from  the  Gulf  some  time  between  the  hours  of  7  and  8  P.  M.,  and 
the  time  the  wind  veered  to  the  southeast  and  attained  its  highest 
velocity  of  between  iio  and  120  miles  an  hour.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  there  was  a  tide  of  about  five  feet  and  a  terrible 
swell  in  the  Gulf  during  the  storm,  and  that  the  tidal  wave  of  four 
feet  rode  this  wall  of  water  and  increased  the  force  and  speed  of 
the  sea  that  washed  over  the  city. 

VIVID  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE   CALAMITY. 

Hon.  Jeff  McLemore,  of  Austin,  a  well  known  journalist  and 
ex-member  of  the  Legislature,  returned  from  Galveston  and  gave 
the  following  vivid  description  of  the  horrors  : 

"  We  were  five  hours  making  the  trip  from  the  mainland,  and 
it  was  not  until  7  o'clock  Monday  evening  that  we  reached  the 
wharf  When  within  two  miles  of  the  city  we  discovered  a  num- 
ber of  human  bodies  floating  in  the  bay,  and  as  the  boat  passed 
each  it  caused  a  shudder  of  horror  among  the  living.  Soon  after 
the  sun  went  down  the  moon  came  up  in  a  cloudless  sky.  The 
^lay  was  as  a  large  mirror,  and  the  scene  seemed  so  peaceful  and 
serene  that  for  a  moment  it  was  hard  to  realize  that  we  were  soon 
to  gaze  upon  the  saddest,  darkest  picture  in  the  book  of  time.  A 
gentle  breeze  wafted  our  boat  lightly  over  the  smooth  waters,  and 
as  we  entered  the  harbor  and  neared  the  wharves,  formerly  the 
scene  of  busiest  life,  a  silence  deep  and  awful  prevailed.  No  one 
on  board  spoke  a  word  and  the  silence  was  only  broken  by  the 


DOOMED  CITY  TURNED  TO  CHAOS.  223 

sound   of  a   rifle    sending  some  robber  of  the  dead  into  endless 
eternity. 

"  After  landing  we  made  our  way  over  huge  heaps  of  wreck- 
age that  were  piled  almost  mountain  high  and  emerged  into  an 
open  space  only  to  be  hailed  by  armed  sentries  who  were  guarding 
the  town  against  ghouls,  vandals  and  looters.  After  explaining 
who  we  were  the  sentries  permitted  us  to  pass,  and  directed  us  to 
the  Tremont  Hotel,  the  chief  place  of  rendezvous  for  the  stricken 

people. 

GHOSTLY  SCENES  OF  NIGHT. 

"  As  we  made  our  way  to  the  hotel,  a  thing  we  did  with 
difficulty,  because  of  the  wreckage  that  covered  the  streets,  we  saw 
only  desolation  and  ruin  on  every  hand.  The  pale  of  the  moon 
added  weirdness  to  the  chaos  and  look  M^here  we  might  there  was 
nothing  to  gladden  the  searching  eye.  We  passed  several  small 
groups  of  men  who  spoke  in  vvhispers  and  those  we  addressed 
looked  at  us  strangely  and  wondered  what  we  came  for. 

"  At  last  the  hotel  was  reached  and  here  most  of  us  found 
friends  and  acquaintances  who  inquired  after  those  we  left  behind. 
The  city  being  under  martial  law,  most  of  our  party,  after  doing 
all  in  their  power  to  relieve  the  anxiety  of  anxious  men  and 
women,  disposed  themselves  about  the  hotel  until  morning,  it  being 
unsafe  to  roam  about  the  city  at  night  for  fear  of  being  mistaken 
for  vandals  and  ghouls  that  have  infested  the  city  ever  since  the 
storm.  To  some  of  us  it  seemed  that  morning  would  never  come, 
but  it  did  come  come  at  last,  and  it  came  bright  and  fair. 

''  I  then  started  out  to  view  the  stricken  city  by  daylight  and 
such  a  scene  as  I  witnessed  is  beyond  the  power  of  words  to  tell. 
The  wildest  flight  of  imagination  can  never  paint  the  picture  that 
^lay  before  my  view,  and  if  none  can  imagine  it,  then  there  is  no 
way  to  give  one  even  a  faint  conception  of  it  in  words.  The 
*  horror  of  it  is  beyond  the  pale  of  exaggeration,  and  the  worst  that 
may  be  said  cannot  even  approach  it.  Acres  and  acres  of  houses 
were  scattered  in  ruins  over  the  earth  and  beneath  the  oroken  and 
shivered  timbers  were  the  decaying  bodies  of  human  beings,  who 
suffered  tortures  worse  than  death. 


224  DOOMED   CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS. 

"  Along  the  pebbled  beach,  once  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
world,  and  a  scene  of  wonted  gayety,  now  all  is  desolation  and 
awe.  Human  bodies,  swollen  and  unrecognizable,  were  mingled 
with  those  of  dead  animals  and  reptiles,  and  the  whole  formed  a 
scene  so  gruesome  and  so  misshapen  that  the  thought  of  it  even 
sends  a  sickening  thrill  coursing  through  one's  veins. 

"To  add  to  the  horror  of  the  situation,  human  hyenas  moved 
stealthily  among  the  dead,  robbing  those  who  were  powerless  to 
resist,  but  these  ghouls  in  human  guise  are  meeting  with  just 
retribution,  for  armed  sentinels  are  now  on  guard  and  have  orders 
to  shoot  them  down  as  they  would  mad  dogs. 

"  If  the  situation  along  the  East  Side  was  more  horrible  than 
that  along  the  West,  it  was  only  because  more  people  dwelt  there 
and  there  were  more  houses  to  be  destroyed.  Along  either  beach 
gaunt  destruction  held  full  swa}^,  and  each  wave  seemed  more 
cruel  than  that  which  it  succeeded.  Nor  were  the  waves  alone  in 
their  cruelty,  for  the  winds  reveled  in  maddened  fury  and  seemed 
to  vie  with  them  in  spreading  ruin  and  desolation. 

HUNDREDS    OF    PEOPLE    CARRIED    OUT   TO    SEA. 

"The  loss  of  life  at  Galveston  will  never  be  known.  The 
storm  came  first  from  the  northwest  and  hundreds,  perhaps  thou- 
sands, were  carried  far  out  to  sea  never  more  to  return.  At  lo 
o'clock  at  night  the  wind  suddenly  veered  to  the  southeast  and 
hundreds  more  were  swept  into  the  bay  and  caught  by  the  cur- 
rent and  also  carried  out  to  the  sea  before  daylight  Sunday  morn- 
ing. That  is  the  opinion  of  old  seamen  with  whom  I  conversed, 
and  if  they  do  not  know  the  actions  of  the  ocean,  then  no  one  does. 

"  Monday  evening  and  Tuesday  morning  I  myself  saw  more 
than  a  hundred  bodies  floating  out  to  sea  and  these  were  scarcely 
one  per  cent  of  those  who  perished.  Responsible  men  with  whom 
I  talked  and  who  had  been  from  one  end  of  the  island  to  the 
other,  estimated  the  loss  at  from  5,000  to  10,000,  and  all  thought 
it  would  come  nearer  the  last  named  figures  than  the  first.  Day 
by  day  as  the  debris  is  cleared  away  bodies  will  be  found  and 
many  are  buried  beneath  the  ruins  that  will  never  be  removed. 


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MAYOR   OF  GALVESTON 


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RUINS    OF  THE    GALVESTON    CITY  WATER    WORKS    AND    POWER    HOUSE 

The  city  water  works  and  power  house  was  badly  damaged,  but  fortunately  no  one  was  killed 
when  it  fell,  although  some  tw(3  hundred  people  had  taken  refuge  in  the  building  early  in  the 
evening.  This  was  on  account  of  the  thoughtfulness  and  coolheadedness  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Reynolds, 
chief  engineer  at  the  works.  Keeping  an  ever  watchful  eye  upon  the  storm  and  the  building,  he 
managed  to  fill  the  stand  pipe  and  thus  anchor  it  down,  to  draw  his  fires  and  cool  his  boilers  and 
get  the  people  out  into  a  nearby  coal  shed  in  time  to  save  them  from  the  fearful  death  of  being 
buried  under  the  building.  After  the  building  fell  they  stayed  in  the  coal  shed  until  the  storm 
had  subsided  enough  to  get  out  and  look  among  the  ruins  for  their  loved  ones  and  friends  who 
vere  less  fortunate  in  securing  shelter  from  the  terrible  storm. 


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DOOMED  CITY  TURNED  TO  CHAOS.  225 

"Ever}^  portion  of  tlie  island  was  submerged  and  it  seems  a 
miracle  that  the  entire  city  was  not  swept  away.  At  least  two- 
fifths  of  the  houses  on  the  island  have  been  razed  to  the  ground. 
Of  the  remaining  three-fifths,  at  least  half  are  damaged  be3^ond 
repair,  while  the  others  are  all  damaged  to  greater  or  less  extent. 
No  house  escaped  without  some  damage  and  to  have  some  idea  of 
the  cyclonic  nature  of  the  storm  it  will  be  only  necessary  to  state 
that  steel  shutters  on  large  business  buildings  were  twisted  around 
as  one  would  twist  a  small  piece  of  copper  wire. 

"  Large  splinters  were  whirled  about  in  the  air  like  darts,  and 
many  found  lodgment  in  human  bodies,  no  doubt  producing 
instant  death.  Oh,  the  horror  and  terror  of  that  dismal  night  ! 
The  wind  howling,  the  sea  roaring  and  lashing,  houses  falling 
and  crashing,  men,  women  and  children  screaming ;  the  shrieks 
of  dying  animals  ;  imagine  it,  if  you  can,  and  you  may  form  ~ 
faint  idea  of  the  situation  at  Galveston  last  Saturday  night. 

HUMAN    VULTURES    PILFERING    AND    LOOTING. 

"Tuesday  morning  I  passed  a  partially  wrecked  home,  in  the 
door  of  which  stood  a  young  face  and  snow-white  hair. 

"  '  Saturday  .morning,'  said  the  man  who  accompanied  me, 
*  that  woman's  hair  was  dark  brown;  Sunday  morning  it  had 
turned  to  snow.'  I  did  not  doubt  him,  for  lie  told  me  of  the 
woman's  experience  and  how  she  had  been  saved  as  if  by  a  miracle. 

"  But  the  woeful  part  of  the  terrible  disaster  has  not  yet  been 
told.  Hundreds  of  human  vultures,  almost  before  the  storm  had 
abated,  began  the  work  of  pilfering  and  looting.  Dead  bodies 
were  robbed  and  in  some  instances  fine;ers  were  cut  off  to  secure 
the  rings  that  were  on  them.  Most  of  these  vultures  were  negroes, 
and  they  kept  up  their  horrible  work  all  day  Sunday  and  Sunday 
night.  Monday  nn  rnmg  martial  law  was  declared,  and  those 
placed  on  guard  haci  'strict  orders  to  shoot  all  pilferers  and  looters. 
Many  met  their  just  fate,  and  by  Tuesday  morning  the  looting 
iiad  almost  ceased 

''Sunday  the  ijegroes  refused  to  help  bury  the  dead  for  either 
love  or  money.      But    when   martial   law  was   declared  they  were 

15 


226  DOOMED   CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS. 

forced  at  the  point  of  tlie  bayonet  and  made  to  do  their  share  of 
the  gruesome  work.  Up  to  Monday  noon  many  of  the  dead  were 
identified,  but  after  that  identification  was  impossible  because  of 
the  swollen  and  decomposed  condition  of  the  bodies. 

"Monday  afternoon  several  hundred  were  loaded  on  baiges 
and  carried  far  out  into  the  Gulf,  where  they  were  thrown  over  to 
become  the  food  of  sharks  and  fishes.  Sunday  and  Monday  morn- 
ing many  were  buried  down  the  island  in  the  shallow  sand,  bu>:  by 
Tuesday  morning  these,  as  well  as  other  bodies  gathered  along 
the  beach,  were  piled  on  wood  and  burned. 

"There  is  still  great  danger  to  Galveston  from  sickness  and 
pestilence.  The  streets  are  filled  with  sediment  from  the  Gulf 
and  bay,  and  this  is  beginning  to  smell  almost  as  bad  as  the  dead 
bodies.  Because  of  the  immense  heaps  of  wreckage  it  will  be 
impossible  to  flood  the  streets  for  weeks  to  come,  even  if  there 
were  plenty  of  water." 

BURYING  THE    VICTIMS    IN    TRENCHES. 

Four  days  after  the  disaster  the  following  account  was  an 
accurate  picture  of  the  condition  of  Galveston  :  This  evening  the 
committees  in  charge  of  clearing  up  the  city,  caring  for  the  desti- 
tute and  arranging  for  transportation  feel  much  encouraged. 
Something  like  order  has  been  been  brought  out  of  chaos.  There 
is  organized  effort  and  the  day's  work  has  been  big.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  handle  the  dead  bodies  of  human  beings  or  the  carcasses 
of  animals  to  get  them  to  sea,  because  of  putrefaction.  Hundreds 
were  buried  in  trenches  and  many  were  cremated.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  handle  fire  with  great  caution,  as  there  is  no  water  supply 
as  yet. 

The  city  is  not  suffering  much  for  drinking  water,  but  water 
is  needed  in  the  mains,  that  fire  may  be  controlled.  The  water 
has  been  flowing  steadily  from  the  Alta  Loma  supply  pipe  into 
the  tank.  Unfortunately  there  was  no  connection  from  the  rig- 
tank  to  the  mains,  except  through  the  pumps,  and  it  is  impos- 
sible to  get  the  water  through  by  that  route.  Alderman  McMas- 
ter,  who  has  been  directing  the  work  to-day,  is  getting  out  the 


DOOMED   CITY  TURNED   TO   CHAOS.  227 

connection  from   tlae   pumps   to  the  mains   and  is  making  a  con- 
nection from  rig  tank  to  mains. 

Some  of  the  large  pipe  needed  was  not  available,  but  carpen- 
ters are  making  a  wooden  section  which  will  stand  the  slight 
pressures.  It  is  expected  that  water  will  be  turned  into  the 
mains  from  the  rig  tank  before  morning.  This  will  give  a 
supply  in  yard  hydrants  and  fill  plugs  from  which  the  steamers 
can  work.  The  men  at  work  on  the  pumps  and  pipes  are  well 
nlong  with  their  work,  but  the  boilermakers  are  not  so  far  along. 
Mr.  McMaster  thinks  the  pumps  can  be  started  by  to-morrow, 
and  that  they  will  give  the  usual  pressure  in  the  mains. 

VISITORS    DO    NOBLE    WORK. 

In  addition  to  the  arrangements  made  for  handling  people 
from  here  to  Texas  City  and  thence  via  the  Galveston,  Houston 
and  Henderson  Railroad  to  Houston,  the  prospect  is  that  the 
Southern  Pacific  will  be  ready  for  passengers  within 
the  next  few  days.  Mr.  W.  S.  Keenan,  general  passenger 
agent  of  the  Santa  Fe,  said  this  evening  that  he  expected  that 
their  track  would  be  completed  to  both  ends  of  the  bridges  by 
to-morrow  evening.  The  company  has  chartered  three  boats  and 
will  take  passengers  by  train  from  Galveston  to  the  bridge  and  there 
transfer  by  boat  to  the  mainland. 

A  large  number  of  people  reached  here  to-day  from  Houston 
and  other  points.  Some  of  them  came  to  lend  helping  hands,  and 
are  doing  noble  work  ;  others  came  to  look  for  relatives.  But 
there  are  many  who  come  out  of  sheer  curiosity  and  who  do 
nothing  but  eat  provisions  and  drink  the  water.  They  are 
taking  up  room  in  the  boats  returning  to  mainland  which  women 
and  children  ought  to  have.  People  who  are  not  coming  to  help, 
'or  on  other  urgent  missions,  ought  to  remain  away  ;  sightseers 
are  not  wanted,  and  those  who  have  no  higher  purpose  in  coming 
will  do  Galveston  the  greatest  service  within  their  power  by  stay- 
ing way. 

The  police  and  soldiers  have  orders  not  to  permit  the  land- 
ing of  strangers,  and  the  order  is  being  carried  out  as  far  as 


228  DOOMED   CITY  TURNED   TO   CHAOS. 

possible.  Tho  committee  on  transportation  pnrposes  to  see  that 
women  and  cliildren  get  a  chance  to  leave  here  first,  and  able- 
bodied  men  will  not  be  permitted  to  leave  dnring  the  first  few 
days.  If  sightseers  come  anyway  they  will  find  it  difficnlt  to  get 
in  and  still  more  difficult  to  get  out  of  the  city. 

Mayor  Jones  received  a  telegram  to-day  from  President 
McKinley,  expressing  his  sorrow  that  Texas  had  been  vir'ted  by 
such  a  dreadful  calamity,  and  advising  that  he  had  instructed  the 
Secretary  of  War  to  render  all  the  assistance  possible. 

The  Mayor  also  received  a  telegram  from  the  Kansas  City  ' 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  saying  that  body  stood  ready  to  help,  and 
asking  what  it  could  do. 

The  steamer  "  George  Hudson  "  arrived  from  Beaumont  this 
afternoon  with  a  carload  of  ice,  5000  barrels  of  water,  and  pro- 
visions. Mr.  John  F.  Keith,  who  came  with  the  tug,  said  he 
would  take  100  passengers  with  him  in  the  morning,  and  he 
would  bring  the  tug  on  another  trip  with  lime  and  provisions. 
Fortunately,  Galveston  has  not  been  entirely  without  ice.  The 
Red  Snapper  Company  had  a  large  supply  on  hand,  and  it  has 
been  letting  people  have  it  at  wholesale  prices.  This  supply  will 
last  a  day  or  two,  and  ice  will  then  be  gladly  received.  Three  of 
the  schooners  of  the  Red  Snapper  Compau}''  reached  here  from 
Campechy  banks  to-day,  filled  with  fish. 

DEAD    ANIMALS    CARRIED    ACROSS   THE    BAY. 

The  fish  were  given  away  by  the  thousands  to  all  who  came 
tor  them.  Animals  are  being  dumped  into  the  bay,  which  go  out 
with  the  tide  and  coming  ashore  by  the  hundreds  at  Bolivar  pen- 
insula. Parties  started  to  bury  them,  but  the  few  people  on  the 
peninsula  found  it  impossible.  They  came  to  the  city  to  implor^ 
the  authorities  to  send  men  thereto  bury  these  animals  and  t* 
quit  throwing  them  into  the  bay.  The  dumping  into  the  bay  had 
already  been  stopped,  as  there  was  little  wind  and  the  carcasses 
were  cremated. 

Between  Fifteenth  street  and  Avenue  C,  running  on  a  line 
parallel  with  the  island,  a  great  mass  of  wreckage  is  piled  as  high 


DOOMED   CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS.  229 

as  a  man's  head  at  any  point  and  from  that  to  the  height  of  three- 
story  houses.  This  line  extends  as  far  along  as  there  were  houses 
to  wreck  and  consists  of  all  kinds  of  buildings.  A  half  of  the 
section  mentioned  was  traversed  by  a  "News  "  man  this  morning". 
Names  of  fully  400  people  were  found  who  lived  in  that  section. 
The  debris  is  so  high  above  these  bodies  that  it  may  be  days 
before  all  will  be  removed. 

There  were  a  great  many  injured  by  the  storm,  and  these  are 
being  rared  for  at  the  hospitals,  both  of  which  are  located  at  the 
east  eud  of  the  St.  Marj-'s  University  building  at  Fourteenth  and 
Scaly  avenue.  This  is  a  building  quite  well  suited  to  the  pur- 
pose, but  of  coiirse  it  is  lacking  in  conveniences.  A  large  number 
of  people  with  broken  bones  and  badly  torn  limbs  are  confined 
there,  and  nearly  every  one  of  them  has  lost  either  whole  families 
or  some  member.  Drs.  Starley  and  Ruhl  are  in  charge  and  have 
been  working  night  and  day  tending  to  those  rescued  from  the 
wrecks  of  their  homes. 

SCHOOL    BUILDING    CARRIED    A    BLOCK   AWAY. 

The  tower  of  the  Rosenberg  school  fell  in  and  killed  about 
eleven  people  during  the  height  of  the  storm.  It  was  a  place  of 
refuge  for  all  the  people  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  high 
water  and  terrific  winds. 

The  parochial  school  situated  on  the  corner  of  Eleventh  and 
Sealy  avenue,  was  taken  from  its  foui:dations  and  carried  by  wind 
and  water  a  full  block  to  Twelfth  street  and  Sealy  avenue,  landing 
on  the  north  side  of  the  street,  whereas  it  was  located  on  the  south 
side  previously.  This  stands  amidst  a  great  pile  of  driftwood, 
:  nd  having  been  carried  to  that  location  undoubtedly  formed  a 
barrier  for  the  collection  of  great  piles  of  drift  that  were  brought 
in  from  gulfward.  It  shoved  some  smaller  buildings  out  of  their 
former  locations,  but  did  not  wreck  many  of  them. 

The  drift  is  something  terrible.  It  includes  every  kind  of 
house  used  by  men,  and  represents  all  the  city  south  of  the  line 
described  to  the  beach  in  which  it  is  reported  that  large  numbers 
>f  dead  bodies,  which  floated  to  sea  yesterda}',  have  been  washed 


•230  DOOMED    CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS. 

during  the  day.  The  houses  are  sometimes  to  he  found  quite 
intact,  hut  turned  bottom  up  like  an  upturned  dry  goods  box. 
Others  are  but  so  much  kindling  wood. 

The  greatest  wreck  is  possibly  the  Sacred  Heart  Catholic 
Church,  at  Fourteenth  and  Broadway.  The  front  wall  is  nearly 
all  standing,  with  the  steeples  on  either  side,  and  the  curved  wall 
that  surrounds  the  chancel  seemed  in  pretty  good  shape,  but  the 
two  side  walls  are  gone  beyond  repair.  The  east  side  is  standing 
about  half  way  up,  and  the  west  side  was  thrown  to  the  ground. 
Sand  covers  the  campus  in  that  neighborhood. 

The  University  building  suffered  a  good  deal  from  the  blow, 
but  it  was  the  haven  of  rest  for  all  the  people  in  that  neighbor- 
hood, as  it  is  now  the  hospital  for  the  injured  and  the  place  of 
•succor  for  the  women  and  children. 

GREAT    WRECK    OF    ST.    MARY'S    INFIRMARY, 

The  next  greatest  wreck  is  the  St.  Mary's  Infirmary  on  Mar- 
ket and  Eighth  streets.  Practically  everything  there  is  gone  but 
the  new  part,  which  was  completed  about  two  years  ago.  This 
is  badly  damaged,  but  is  being  used.  It  does  not  cover  more  than 
a  quarter  of  the  floor  space  of  the  entire  building  when  intact 
This  is  used  to  support  injured  and  is  the  place  of  refuge.  Sealy 
Hospital,  between  Ninth  and  Tenth  streets,  escaped  serious 
injury,  beyond  damage  to  the  roof. 

The  colored  school,  on  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Tenth 
streets,  is  a  mass  of  wreckage,  piled  up  with  the  debris  along  the 
mountain  chain  previously  described.  This  was  a  large  two- story 
frame  building  of  eight  rooms,  and  stood  high  in  the  air.  A  little 
P!^piscopal  mission,  located  on  the  corner  of  Fifteenth  and  Avenue  ' 
L,  was  carried  northwest  along  Fifteenth  street  and  broke  up  a 
block  away.  The  gentleman  who  was  in  charge  of  the  mission, 
Henry  Hirsinger,  was  lost. 

This  great  line  of  wreckage  forms  the  division  point  between 
a  mass  of  houses  unroofed  and  partly  damaged  and  a  great  prai- 
rie, which  up  to  Saturday  was  the  location  of  the  homes  of  thou- 
sands of  Galveston's  people.     This  was  generally   known  as   the 


DOOMED   CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS.  231 

colored  section  of  the  city,  but  the  colored  people  as  a  rule  lived 
close  to  the  beach.  As  a  consequence  they  got  scared  early  in 
the  day  and  moved  into  town. 

The  result  is  that  the  death  list  is  not  as  great  proportion- 
ately among  the  colored  people  as  it  is  among  the  whites,  although 
a  great  many  of  them  are  missing.  Prominent  among  the  col- 
ored people  missing  are  S.  C.  Cuney,  a  nephew  of  Wright  Cune}^,' 
formerly  collector  of  customs  at  this  port.  The  rector  of  the  col- 
ored Episcopal  church,  Rev.   Thomas  Cain,  and  his  wife  are  lost. 

The  poles  of  the  East  Broadway  street  railway  line  are  stand- 
ing erect  to  Fourteenth  street,  beyond  which  there  is  but  one 
pole.  The  wires  are  all  down,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  the 
track  is  filled  with  wreckage.  The  line  of  wreckage  crosses 
Broadway,  between  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  streets,  and  in  it  at 
that  point  are  several  bodies  which  cannot  be  reached  on  account 
of  the  high  pile  of  lumber. 

HOUSES    PLACED    BACK   TO    BACK. 

The  great  bulk  of  this  debris  is  unbroken  and  sides  and  roofs 
of  houses  still  intact,  and  the  vast  amount  of  loose  boards  can  be 
used  for  rebuilding,  so  that  there  will  be  lessened  cost  in  that 
direction.  In  some  places  whole  houses  have  been  moved  from 
their  foundations  and  carried  around  back  of  others,  thus  formingf 
a  barrier  which  caught  the  floating  debris  and  prevented  the 
whole  north  side  of  town  being  swept  from  Gulf  to  bay  and  carried 
into  the  bay. 

The  roof  of  the  elevator  is  gone  and  the  wheat  there  is 
exposed,  but  if  fresh  water  can  be  obtained  soon  it  is  expected  the 
wheat  can  be  saved  by  dr3dng.  The  sheds  on  the  wharves  are  ' 
practically  all  gone,  but  the  wharves  are  supposed  to  be  in  sucii 
shape  that  they  can  be  repaired  at  a  nominal  expense  and  can  be 
resumed. 

The  following  letter  was  received  at  Fort  Worth  from  C.  H. 
Fewell,  who  is  night  yardmaster  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railway  Com- 
pany, at  Galveston  : 

"  The  only  means  of  sending  mail  or  an3^thing   is   by  water 


232  DOOMED   CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS. 

to  Houston.  All  bridges  and  wires  are  gone,  and  it  will  be  weeks 
before  they  can  possibly  get  a  train  out  of  here.  The  city  is  a 
complete  wreck.  Very  few  buildings  are  standing  that  have  not 
in  some  way  been  wrecked  by  the  storm.  The  loss  of  life  will 
never  be  known  ;  it  will  run  into  thousands.  You  can't  imagine 
/  vhat  a  terrible  shape  this  place  is  in.  We  are  thankful  to  be 
.  dive,  but  cannot  help  but  feel  sad  when  we  think  of  the  many 
(riends  we  have  lost,  and  the  hundreds  that  are  leftwithout  homes 
and  without  a  mouthful  of  anything  to  eat.  Relief  must  come 
soon  or  man}?-  will  starve  to  death. 

"Our  rooming  house  stood  the  storm  well,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  corner  blown  off  and  part  of  the  roof.  I  got  tip  about  4 
o'clock  Saturday.  It  was  then  raining  and  blowing  hard.  I  left 
the  house  and  started  for  the  Tremont  hotel  and  came  near  not 
making  it.  We  stayed  there  all  night.  For  four  hours  I  thought 
every  minute  that  the  building  would  certainly  go  with  the  many 
that  were  going  to  pieces  around  it.  We  would  have  been  as  well 
off  had  we  stayed  at  home,  but  was  afraid  our  house  would  not 
stand  the  storm. 

HORRIBLE    BEYOND    DESCRIPTION. 

"Wagons  have  been  passing  all  day  piled  full  of  dead  bodies. 
Many  of  them  will  never  be  identified,  and  they  are  now  taking 
them  right  to  the  Gulf  for  burial.  This  seems  terrible,  but  it 
must  be  done,  as  it  is  impossible  to  bury  them  on  the  island. 
Hundreds  of  bodies  are  floating  in  the  bay  and  outskirts  of  what 
was  once  the  city.  I  cannot  describe  how  horrible  it  is.  I  have 
been  over  most  of  the  city  since  Sunda}^  morning  and  know 
exactly  how  everything  is  situated.  From  the  beach  for  at  least 
four  blocks  in  there  is  not  a  sign  of  anything  left  to  show  for 
what  was  once  fine  residences. 

"Not  one  thing  is  left  to  show  that  there  ever  was  anything 
at  the  beach.  Kverything  is  piled  np  ;  all  rubbish  for  about  four 
blocks  from  the  beach  bej^ond  which  it  looks  as  clear  as  the  prairie. 
The  east  and  west  end  of  the  town  is  entirel}^  gone.  At  the  east 
end  not  a  thing  remains  standing  to  Twelfth  street-     Dead  bodie" 


DOOMED   CITY   TURNED   TO   CHAOS.  233 

can  be  seen  every  place  except  in  the  business  part  of  tbe  city, 
to-day,  two  days  after  the  storm.  They  are  bringing  them  in 
by  the  wagon  loads  every  hour.  Nearly  every  one  you  meet 
has  lost  some  friend  and  is  looking  for  them.  I  visited  three  places 
where  they  have  been  taking  the  bodies  to-day  with  a  friend  look- 
^ing  for  relatives,  and  I  know  there  could  not  have  been  less  than 
200  bodies  in  each  place,  lying  cold  in  death.  The  general  offices 
are  a  complete  wreck  ;  the  wharves,  elevators  and  everything 
connected  with  the  railroads  are  more  or  less  racked  and  many  of 
them  a  total  loss.  Not  a  splinter  is  left  of  our  yard  of&ce.  You 
might  say  hundreds  of  cars  are  turned  over  and  can  be  found 
nearly  a  block  from  where  they  were  left  before  the  storm." 


CHAPTER   XII. 

Thrilling  Narratives  by  Eye-witnesses — Path  of  the  Storm's 

Fury  Through  Galveston — Massive  Heaps  of  Rubbish — 

Huge  Buildings  Swept  into  the  Gulf. 

AT  GALVESTON  on  that  fatal  Saturday  night  there  wen- 
deaths  far  more  horrible  than  any  of  which  even  a  Sicn^ 
kiewicz  could  conceive.  Mothers  and  babes,  fathers  and 
husbands,  were  hurled  headlong  into  the  world  bej^ond  without  a 
chance  to  make  peace  with  their  Maker,  with  a  farewell  kiss  or 
a  last  fond  embrace.  Upon  every  hand  the  dead  were  piled  up  like 
drift-wood  cast  up  by  the  sea,  even  as  they  were  at  Waterloo  and 
Gettysburg  and  behind  Kitchener  in  the  Soudan.  The  bodies  of 
men  that  the  day  before  were  perfect  specimens  of  physical  develop- 
ment were  swollen  and  discolored  by  the  fierce  rays  of  the  autumn 
sun,  and  were  food  for  flies  and  maggots  which  buzzed  or  crawled 
hiUier  and  thither  unceasingly.  In  the  bay  the  sharks  were  over- 
fed, and  on  the  prairies  the  buzzards  could  no  longer  be  tempted. 

If  those  who  live  fer  from  the  awful  scene  of  woe,  believe  that 
this  is  over-drawn,  let  them  ask  the  pale-faced  nerve-racked  refugees, 
from  that  terrible  place,  and  they  will  be  told  that  it  is  impossible 
for  either  pen  or  brush  to  give  the  picture  as  it  is.  The  photo- 
grapher, with  all  his  art,  stands  baffled.  The  artist,  with  all  his 
talent,  is  incompetent.  The  newspaper  man,  accustomed  to  the 
dark  side  of  life,  shudders  and  turns  from  description  to  the  work 
of  reciting  details,  horrible  enough  in  themselves,  but  far  more 
pleasant.  f 

There  arrived  in  Dallas  a  score  or  more  of  men  who  told  of' 
decomposed  bodies,  and  maggots  and  flies  and  starvation  and  dis- 
tress until  their  hearers  rushed  away  in  horror.  Some  of  these 
heart-breaking  tales  are  given  herewith. 

Ed.  A.  Gebhard  of  The  Dallas  News  came  in  from  Texas 
City.     He  said : 

"Among  the  many  stories  of  the  Galveston  disaster  1  have 
231 


THRILLING    NARRATIVES    BY    EYE-WITNESSES.  235 

jc^n  none  that  fully  describe  the  sight  that  presented  itself  around 
Texas  City  and  Virginia  Point  on  Monday.  They  all  seem  to  lose 
the  impressiveness  that  the  narrator  gave  them  when  the  centre  of 
an  excited  group  who  were  eager  to  know  if  friends  or  relatives 
were  among  the  dead.  Every  word  is  heard  or  read  ravenously  all 
over  the  country,  and  when  one  has  seen  the  ghastly  faces  of 
friends  and  acquaintances  strewn  ruthlessly  among  the  grass  and 
rubbish  around  Texas  City  and  along  that  part  of  the  bay  shore 
he  will  not  wonder  that  the  world  stands  aghast. 

"  The  corpses  that  had  been  thrown  up  by  the  cruel  waters  on 
the  mainland  were  for  the  time  being  neglected  for  the  field  that 
contained  thousands  instead  of  hundreds.  The  remains  of  the  old 
man  of  many  winters,  with  the  determined  looking  face,  who  gazed 
with  intentness  into  the  now  cloudless  skies,  was  kept  silent  com- 
pany by  a  little  miss  whose  smile  would  melt  the  heart  of  the  most 
cruel  man  alive.  Further  on  were  the  forms  of  women  and  chil- 
dren, most  of  which  were  entirely  nude,  the  wind  having  been  that 
severe  that  even  the  shoes  were  torn  from  their  feet. 

THROWN    TOGETHER    IN    UTTER    CONFUSION. 

"  I  have  seen  tracks  of  many  cyclones,  but  never  have  I  seen 
the  path  of  one  that  held  the  miser}^,  the  suffering  and  the  general 
destruction  that  were  occasioned  by  this  hurricane,  assisted  by  the  sea. 

"  Furniture,  household  articles,  pianos  (complete  and  in  part) 
and  the  carcasses  of  every  kind  of  domestic  animal  were  to  be  found 
in  chaos.  Even  from  the  mainland  could  be  seen  the  dire  effects 
of  the  storm  on  the  seaport  of  Texas — jagged  walls,  broken  smoke- 
stacks, tin  roofs  suspended  from  their  proper  places  or  lying  curled 
up  at  my  feet  in  the  bay,  a  distance  of  several  miles  from  where 
they  belonged.  While  it  is  natural  for  a  person  drowning  to  cling 
to  whatever  comes  in  their  reach  with  that  intensity  that  the}-  can- 
not be  disengaged,  after  death,  without  much  trouble,  this  very 
thing  lent  much  grewsomeness  to  the  scene.  Mothers  with  their 
children  in  their  arms  could  not  be  separated  from  them,  even  by 
death. 

The  piling  of  the  destroyed  railroad  bridges  had  an  occasional 


236  THRILLING    NARRATIVES   BY   EYE-WITNESSES. 

figure  clinging  to  them.  On  nearer  approacli  the  head  was  seen  to 
be  thrown  back  as  if  to  keep  above  water,  and  the  features  were 
distorted  with  horror  as  if  in  their  last  moments  they  realized  the 
fatality  of  the  attempt.  The  sea,  not  content  with  drowning  the 
living  and  washing  them  awa^^,  desecrated  the  tombs  of  Galveston 
-  and  several  caskets  were  seen  floating  on  the  bosom  of  the  quiet 
bay  that  morning  and  two  or  three  were  found  on  shore  as  if  resent- 
ful at  having  their  rightful  rest  disturbed. 

"  Many  people  from  a  distance  moved  only  by  a  morbid  curi- 
osity, which  I  consider  little  short  of  criminal,  crowded  to  Houston 
in  order  that  they  might  go  to  the  devastated  city  and  vievr  the 
misery  and  devastation,  not  willing  to  alleviate  suffering  or  help  to 
bury  the  dead.  As  for  me,  I  trust  I  will  never  look  on  a  sight  as 
appalling,  as  heartrending,  as  desolate,  while  life  lasts," 

A    ST.    LOUIS    MAN    STORMBOUND. 

George  MacLaine,  of  St.  Louis,  arrived  at  Dallas  from  Galves- 
ton, where  he  spent  the  time  from  Friday  until  Tuesday.  "  I  was 
intending  to  leave  on  the  1.50  train  Saturday  afternoon,"  he  said, 
"  but  I  could  not  get  away  on  account  of  the  storm,  the  water  hav- 
ing risen  to  such  an  extent  that  it  could  not  cross  the  bridge. 

"  My  experience  was  pretty  much  the  same  as  a  large  number 
of  others  have  given.  During  the  storm  I  was  in  a  building  lo- 
cated at  the  corner  of  Twenty-fifth  and  Market  streets,  two  or  three 
blocks  above  the  Santa  Fe  depot.  We  were  in  the  parlor  c/f  the 
hotel  on  the  second  floor,  with  about  eight  feet  of  water  in  the 
lower  story.  The  parlor  was  crowded  with  guests  and  refugees, 
men  and  women,  and  from  the  windows  I  witnessed  a  great  man^^ 
affecting  and  pathetic  sights,  particularly  in  the  way  of  appeals  to 
the  men  in  the  hotel  to  assist  in  rescuing:  women  with  children  in 
the  neighborhood  who  had  become  separated  from  their  husbands. 

"  One  case  I  particularly  noticed — that  of  a  woman  and  five 
young  children,  whose  house  fell  on  top  of  them,  but,  fortunately, 
in  such  a  way  as  to  protect  them  from  the  force  of  the  waves  and 
wind.  vScveral  attempts  were  made  by  various  parties  to  rescue  this 
family,  but  the  rescue  parties  always  returned  with  the  statement 


THRILLING    NARRaTP  LS   BY   EYE-WITNESSES.  237 

that  ou  account  of  the  debris  diid  tlie  swift  current  they  were  unable 
to  get  near  enough  to  the  house  to  render  any  assistance.  The 
first  attempt  was  made  about  6  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

"They  were  eventually  given  up  for  lost,  when,  to  the  surprise 
of  everyone,  cries  for  help  were  heard  from  the  ruins  about  5  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  Appeals  were  again  made  to  some  of  the  white 
men  in  the  house  to  go  to  their  relief,  but,  I  am  very  sorry  to  sa}^, 
they  were  in  vain  until  finally  two  colored  men  who  worked  in  the 
kitchen  and  one  of  the  whites  volunteered  their  services  and  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  the  party  to  the  hotel.  They  had  practically 
nothing  on  them  when  they  came,  but  the}^  were  taken  in  hand  and 
the  best  done  with  them  in.  the  way  of  giving  them  clothing  and 
food  that  was  possible.  There  were  so  many  cases  of  this  kind  that, 
as  I  say,  it  is  simply  a  repetition  of  the  experience  of  others. 

DRUNKEN  REVELRY  IN  THE  STREETS. 

"  On  Sunday  morning,  immediately  after  the  storm  and  as 
soon  as  daylij^ht  appeared,  the  scene  on  the  streets  was  one  I  shall 
never  forget.  There  were  drunken  women,  almost  nude,  with 
their  male  companions,  also  under  tl:'^  influence  of  liquor,  parading 
t.'ie  streets  and  laughing  and  singing  as  if  returning  from  a  pro- 
ii  nged  spree.  There  were  some  of  the  best  citizens  of  Galveston 
hdrrying  to  and  fro,  asking  this  one  and  that  one  if  they  had 
h  'ard  anything  of  their  sisters,  wives  or  some  other  member  of 
tl  eir  families. 

"There  were  others  who  had  been  present  when  their  families 
hdd  perished,  weeping  and  wailing  over  their  losses,  young  child- 
ren crying  for  their  parents  who  had  perished,  parents  crying  for 
the  loss  of  their  children,  and  others  walking  aimlessly  about  or 
standing  around  as  if  they  were  stunned.  Everyone  appeared  so 
thoroughly  unnerved  that  there  was  a  total  lack  of  organized  effort 
to  search  for  the  missing  or  to  collect  food. 

"  Almost  immediately  after  the  waters  receded  sufficiently  to 
permit  people  to  wade  or  walk  in  safety  men  and  women  could  be 
seen  with  their  long  poles  and  baskets,  whose  principal  aim  and 
object  seemed  to  be  to  profit  by  the  misfortunes  of  the  poor  people 


238  THRILLING   NARRATIVEb  s^t    EYE-WITNESSES. 

wlio  had  lost  their  lives  or  their  homes.     On  Sunday  afternoon  1 
took  a  walk  out  Tremont  avenue  to  inquire  as  to  the  safety  of 
some  of  my  friends  who  lived  on  that  street,  and  after  making  a 
few  visits  proceeded  to  the  beach  to  witness  the  destruction  that 
had  taken  place  in  that  neighborhood. 

"Of  course  it  has  been  told  by  several  how  everything  had 
been  swept  off  the  face  of  the  land  in  that  direction,  but  I  could  not 
help  noticing  the  large  number  of  colored  people  with  their  baskets 
^  and  shawls  searching  through  the  ruins  of  what  had  been  the  finest 
homes  in  Galveston  for  bric-a-brac,  silver  and  other  articles  of 
value,  I  stood  for  some  time,  amazed  that  they  could  have  the 
audacit}^  to  do  what  they  were  doing,  but  as  nobody  seemed  to 
interfere  with  them  or  question  their  right,  I  passed  on  as  every 
one  else  did,  simply  feeling  astounded  that  people  could  be  so  inhu- 
man at  such  a  time.  I  saw  one  colored  woman  who  had  filled  her 
basket  and  was  returning  to  the  city  when  she  met  one  of  the 
unfortunate  owners  of  the  property,  who,  by  the  merest  chance, 
noticed  sticking  out  of  the  woman's  basket  some  article  that  she 
was  able  to  identify  as  her  property.  **. 

CURSED  FOR  INTERFERENCE. 

"She  called  upon  the  darkey  to  give  up  the  article,  but  she 
declined  to  do  so,  taking  the  position  that  in  such  times  it  was 
anybody's  property.  Fortunately  for  the  rightful  owner  a  gentle, 
man  friend  happened  to  come  along  during  the  controversy,  and^ 
hearing  the  nature  of  it,  forcibly  took  the  basket  from  the  woman, 
who  was  even  then  bold  enough  to  stand  cursing  the  man  for  his 
interference.  I  did  not  see  any  parties  mutilating  or  robbing  the 
dead,  but  I  met  several  others  in  Galveston  who  had. 

"  I  left  on  Tuesday  morning,  being  fortunate  enough  to  get 
passage  on  a  schooner  that  carried  me  to  Texas  City.  From  there 
(J  caught  a  train  to  Houston.  All  day  Monday  in  Galveston  it 
seemed  to  be  one  continual  procession  of  bodies,  which  were  being 
carried  in  wagons,  drays,  fire  ladders,  and  every  other  imaginable 
conve3^ance.  Some  of  the  bodies  were  mmus  heads,  arms  or  feet, 
which,   added  to  the  advanced  stiigc  of  decomposition,  not  only 


THRILLING   NARRATIVES   BY   EYE-WITNESSES.  23» 

made  the  scene  particularly  horrible  to  witness,  but  extremely 
nauseating-  on  account  of  the  smell  from  the  bodies.  Particularly 
toward  the  close  of  Monday  the  bodies  were  found  so  rapidly  that 
any  effort  to  carry  them  to  any  special  point  for  burial  had  about 
ceased  and  they  were  covered  up  in  the  sand,  laid  down  on  the 
wharf  or  left  where  they  were  found.  Even  after  I  was  fortuu«*^e 
,enough  to  get  a  schooner  to  carry  me  to  Texas  City  it  seemed  that 
there  were  almost  as  many  floating  in  the  bay  and  being  carried 
off  or  lying  around  on  the  mainland  as  I  had  seen  in  Galveston 
itself. 

"  It  was  a  horrible  experience  which  I  passed  through,  which 
I  hope  will  never  occur  again  in  my  lifetime,  and  I  feel  that  I  can- 
not too  strongly  call  attention  to  the  urgent  needs,  both  in  food 
and  clothing,  not  only  of  the  poor  classes,  but  of  the  best  people 
in  Galveston,  who  up  to  the  time  of  this  terrible  calamit}^  had  not 
known  what  want  was,  and  who  even  now  seem  ill  at  ease  in  know 
ing  how  to  make  their  wants  known." 

STORM    OF  INDESCRIBABLE  FURY. 

Rudolph  Daniels,  Assistant  General  Passenger  Agent  of  the 
Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  Railway,  was  in  Galveston  during  the 
storm,  and  returned  to  Dallas  on  the  12th.  Mr.  Daniels  said:  "I 
can  only  give  you  my  experience  and  what  I  saw.  The  storm  was 
indescribable  in  its  fury,  and  it  was  hard  to  realize  the  extent  of  the 
devastation  and  destruction  even  when  on  the  scene.  It  does  not 
seem  real  or  possible. 

"I  was  in  a  restaurant  near  the  Tremont  Hotel  when  the 
storm  broke.  It  began  blowing  a  gale  about  2  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, but  the  wind  did  not  reach  an  alarming  height  until  about  4 
o'clock.  Myself  and  friends  saw  that  it  was  going  to  be  a  storm 
of  more  than  ordinary  fury  and  started  for  the  Tremont.  The 
street  was  three  feet  deep  in  water  and  we  got  a  carriage.  We  had 
to  draw  our  feet  up  on  the  seats  to  keep  out  of  the  water. 

"At  5  o'clock  the  wind  was  blowing  a  hurricane,  and  the  water 
came  over  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  the  Tremont. 

"The  water  in  the  street  was  full  of  telegraph  poles,  beer  kegx^ 


240  THRILLING    NARRATIVES   BY    EYE-WITNESSES. 

boxes  and  debris  of  all  sorts.  The  wind  was  carrying  all  sortG  of 
missiles.  On  a  great  many  roofs  in  Galveston  oyster  shells  were 
used  instead  of  gravel.  The  wind  tore  them  off  and  hurled  them 
through  the  air  with  great  force,  injuring  people  and  breaking  win- 
dows. The  air  was  full  of  flying  glass  and  every  imaginable  thing 
that  could  be  blown  away.  Mixed  with  the  roaring  of  the  hurri- 
cane was  a  bedlam  of  strange  noises,  the  crash  of  breaking  glass, 
rumble  of  falling  walls  and  rattle  of  tin  roofs  making  an  infernal 
sound. 

"The  people  for  blocks  around  endeavored  to  make  their  wa}' 
to  the  Tremont.  Rescuers  stood  on  the  sidewalk  to  assist  those 
who  were  trying  to  cross  the  street,  which  was  over  waist-deep  in 
water.  The  water  was  lashed  to  foam  by  the  wind  and  the  air  was 
thick  with  spume  and  spray.  When  a  person,  man,  woman  or 
child,  would  get  in  reach,  those  on  the  sidewalk  would  seize  them 
and  drag  them  into  the  hotel. 

"Soon  there  were  about  looo  people  in  the  hotel.  Women 
with  hardly  clothing  enough  to  cover  them,  and  that  wet,  were 
crowded  along  the  halls  and  stairways.  They  were  moaning  and 
babies  were  crying.  Outside  in  the  storm  all  seemed  a  sort  of 
haze.     No  definite  shapes  could  be  seen  across  the  street. 

WINDOWS  BROKEN  AND  ROOMS  FLOODED. 

"  The  wind  reached  its  strongest  about  6  o'clock.  Then  the 
water  was  in  the  rotunda  of  the  hotel.  Part  of  the  skylight  had 
blown  off  and  the  rain  was  pouring  in.  Many  of  the  windows 
were  broken  by  flying  pieces  of  debris  and  the  rooms  were  flooded. 
My  room  was  among  those  flooded.  Joe  Morrow  had  a  room  that 
was  dry,  and  he  and  Harry  Archer  and  myself  crowded  into  it. 
Morrow  got  four  inches  of  candle  somewhere,  and  we  had  half  a 
dozen  dry  matches.  We  burned  the  candle  from  time  to  time  dur- 
ing the  night  to  cheer  us  up.  All  of  us  were  scared  and  did  not 
know  what  minute  everything  would  go.  After  midnight  the 
storm  began  to  go  down,  and  at  5  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  water 
had  gone  out  of  the  hotel  and  part  of  Tremont  street  was  above  ii. 

"We  set  out  to  find  W.  H.  McClure,  who  had  had  an  awful 


THRILLING    NARRATIVES   BY    EYE-WITNESSES.  241 

experieuce.  He  came  to  the  hotel  and  offered  a  hackman  any 
price  to  go  to  his  house  after  his  family,  but  could  not  induce  him 
to  go.  Failing  in  that,  he  started  back  home  to  his  wife.  That  was 
7  o'clock,  and  he  did  not  manage  to  reach  home,  one-half  mile 
away,  until  2.30  in  the  morning.  We  found  them  all  safe.  We 
saw  several  bodies  on  Tremont  street  on  the  way  there. 

"The  organization  of  relief  work  began  at  once.     It  was  soon 
seen  that  there  was  no  time  for  the  identification  of  bodies,  and  the 
work  of  taking  them   to  sea   for  burial  began.     Along  the  Gulf' 
front  for  three  blocks  back  there  is  not  a  house  standing,  and  I  j 
could  see  only  one  or  two  on  the  Denver  resurvey. 

"  There  was  a  meeting  of  all  the  railroad  men  in  Galveston  at 
9  o'clock  Tuesday  morning,  at  which  it  was  arranged  that  freight 
would  be  handled  through  Houston  and  the  Clinton  tap  to  Clinton 
and  by  barge  to  Galveston.  The  Galveston,  Houston  and  Hender- 
son to  handle  passengers  to  Texas  Citv  and  then  to  Galveston  by 
the  steamer  Lawrence." 

W.  H.  McGrath,  general  manager  of  the  Dallas  Electric 
Company,  returned  from  Galveston  yesterday.     He  said : 

HOUSEHOLD    FURNITURE    STREWN    FOR    MILES. 

"No  words  can  express  the  scenes  of  death  and  desolation. 
Nothing  can  be  said  that  will  convey  the  full  meaning.  I  went 
over  to  Galveston  in  a  schooner  and  came  away  as  soon  as  possible. 
What  they  need  there  is  not  people,  but  ice,  water  and  supplies. 
All  along  the  shore  of  the  bay  for  twelve  miles  inland  are  strewn 
pianos,  sofas,  chairs,  tables  paving  blocks  and  all  sorts  of  broken 
lumber  and  debris  from  Galveston. 

"  General  Scurry  detailed  my  party  to  bury  the  dead  on  a 
stretch  of  beach  about  two-and-one-half  miles  long.  In  that  space 
we  found  fourteen  bodies,  all  women  and  children  but  two.  The 
hot  sun  beating  down  and  the  action  of  the  water  had  caused 
decomposition  to  set  in  at  once.  They  were  horribly  bloated,  and 
the  eyes  and  tongues  protruding  and  the  bosoms  of  the  women 
bursting  open. 

'"  None  of  the  corpses  had  any  clothing  upon  them.     One  man 


242  THRILLING    NARRATIVES    BY    EYE-WTTNESSES. 

had  a  leather  belt  about  his  waist  and  the  shreds  of  his  trousers. 
The  women  were  nude  except  tliat  corsets  and  shoes  still  remained 
on  some  of  them.  All  the  lighter  portions  of  the  clothing  had 
been  beaten  off  by  the  water.  There  was  no  time  foi  in dentifi ca- 
tion. We  simply  pulled  them  up  on  the  beach  and  buried  them 
H'here  they  lay. 

"  It  is  frightful  to  think  of.  The  bay  is  still  full  of  floating 
Dodies.  Forty-three  were  counted  from  the  schooner  I  was  on  as 
we  went  down.  Gangs  of  men  are  at  work  all  the  time  under 
martial  law  burying  as  fast  as  they  are  cast  up. 

"  The  city  of  Galveston  is  a  v/reck.  Not  a  building  in  the 
town  escaped  injury.  The  people  there  who  went  througli  the 
storm  seemed  dazed  and  in  a  sort  of  stupor.  All  they  know  is 
that  they  want  to  get  away  from  the  spot,  and  when  they  get 
on  the  mainland  they  go  wild  with  joy.  They  are  utterly  be- 
wildered and  demoralized. 

ARRESTED  FOR  ROBBING  THE  DEAD. 

"  General  McKibben  had  just  arrived  when  I  was  there  and 
martial  law  reigned.  I  was  told  that  seventy  ghouls  had  been 
arrested  for  robbing  bodies  and  that  they  would  be  court-martialed 
and  shot.  The  tramp  steamer  Kendal  Castle  is  lying  higli  and 
dry  200  feet  from  the  water's  edge.  She  is  standing  on  an  even 
keel,  just  as  though  she  was  at  sea.  General  Scurry  wanted  a 
boat  to  go  across  to  Galveston  and  informed  the  captain  he  was 
under  martial  law  and  his  boats  would  be  required.  The  boats  were 
sent  and  General  Scurry  went  across  the  bay  in  the  captain's  gig. 

"  The  stench  along  the  wharves  in  Galveston  is  something 
terrible,  but  the  people  are  making  every  effort  to  dispose  of  ever}^- 
thing  that  is  putrifying. 

"  The  railroad  and  telegraphic  companies  are  making  tremend- 
ous efforts  to  get  into  Galveston.  The  Postal  Telegraph  Company 
has  two  wires  strung  down  the  Galveston,  Houston  and  Henderson 
to  the  junction  of  the  Texas  Terminal.  Below  that  not  a  pole  was 
left.  The  Western  Union  is  making  rapid  progress  and  will  lay 
a  cable  across  the  bav^" 


THRILLING   NARRATIVES   BY   EYE-WITNESSES.  240 

George  Hall,  a  traveling  man  who  lives  at  133  Thomas  avenue, 
this  city,  returned  from  Galveston  yesterday  morning,  having 
passed  through  the  terrible  scenes  enacted  there  during  and  after 
the  storm.     To  a  News  representative  he  said  last  night : 

"I  arrived  at  Galveston  Friday  afternoon,  and  my  wife  and 
little  girl  were  to  come  down  Saturday.  At  noon  Saturday  I 
noticed  that  the  storm,  which  had  been  blowing  all  the  morning, 
was  getting  worse.  At  that  time  I  went  to  the  tower  of  the 
Tremont  Hotel  and  saw  the  waves  rolling  in  toward  the  land.  I 
';3ok  just  one  look  over  the  city  and  came  down.  The  wind 
increased  in  violence  from  that  on  and  the  rain  fell  in  sheets,  and 
I  sent  a  telegram  to  my  wife  and  advised  her  to  stop  in  Houston. 
I  think  that  was  the  last  telegram  that  was  sent  from  the  island, 
as  a  few  moments  afterwards  the  girl  told  me  the  wires  had 
snapped.     The  storm  was  accompanied  by  no  thunder  or  lightning. 

CHILDREN    CRYING    AND    \A/'OMEN    PRAYING. 

*'  About  4  o'clock  the  people  who  were  able  to  get  conveyances 
began  to  come  in  from  the  residence  districts.  The  hotel  did  not 
serve  any  supper.  From  6  to  10  o'clock  was  the  worst  of  the  storm, 
and  during  that  time  there  was  about  1200  people  in  the  house. 
We  were  just  as  nearly  like  rats  in  a  wire  cage  as  anything  could 
be.  At  10  o'clock  the  water  was  four  feet  deep  in  the  office,  and  it 
was  certain  death  to  go  out  doors.  We  were  in  pitch  darkness  all 
the  time,  although  some  one  had  secured  one  candle  and  set  it  up 
in  the  dining-room.  Children  were  crying  and  women  praying 
and  throwing  their  arms  around  the  mens'  knees  and  asking  them 
to  save  them.  It  was  certainly  as  horrible  a  night  as  any  one  ever 
put  on  earth.  I  have  been  on  the  road  thirty  years,  have  been  in 
^  all  parts  of  the  world,  have  had  many  hairbreadth  escapes,  but  they 
'did  not  amount  to  a  snap  of  the  fingers  besides  this. 

"  We  had  one  particularly  hard  gust  that  lasted  about  five 
minutes,  and  on  looking  at  my  watch  I  saw  that  was  a  little  after 
10  o'clock.  At  12  o'clock  it  had  died  down  considerably,  and  the 
water  fell  two  feet  in  about  twenty  minutes. 

"  In  the  early  morning  we  ventured  out,  although  it  rained 


244  THRILLING    NARRATIVES    BY    EYE-WITNESSES. 

most  of  tlie  forenoon.  In  the  afternoon  I  took  a  Vv^alk  down  to  the 
beach  which  is  ordinarily  ten  minutes'  walk,  but  it  took  me  an 
hour  and  one-half  on  this  occasion.  Once  I  slipped  and  twisted  ui}' 
ankle  slightly.  M3'  foot  came  down  on  something  soft,  md  I  found 
that  it  was  the  breast  of  an  old  man  with  long  whiskers. 

"As  1   returned  to  the  hotel  I  counted  thirty-five  bodies,  five 
in  one  bunch.    I  saw  a  negro  go  out  of  a  house  with  a  load  of  bed- 
clothes   and   other   stuff   and  a    soldier  stopped  him.     The  man 
claimed  that  he  had  been  sent  there  by  the  owners  of  the  property 
I  personally  saw  no  looting. 

"  I  stayed  there  over  Sunday  nighty  and  on  Monday  morning 
seven  of  us  bunched  together  and  paid  a  man  $100  to  take  us  over 
the  bay.  On  the  way  over  we  counted  more  than  ninety  bodies 
passing  close  to  us,  and  on  Sunday  forenoon  I  believe  there  were 
about  as  many  bodies  in  the  bay  as  there  were  fish.  I  am  certain 
in  my  own  mind  that  I  saw  over  1000  bodies. 

STRONG    MAN    FAINTS. 

"  Barly  Sunday  morning  Jack  Frost,  of  this  city,  walked  into 
the  Tremont  Hotel,  nearly  naked  and  broken  and  bruised  from 
head  to  foot.  He  fainted  and  was  carried  to  a  room  and  a  doctor 
sent  for.  The  doctors  said  that  the  bones  of  his  right  hand  were 
broken,  one  clavicle  broken  and  his  left  shoulder  dislocated,  besides 
being  horribl}^  bruised  and  mangled.  Several  inquiries  from  the 
doctors  elicited  the  information  that  it  was  a  close  question  of  life 
and  death  when  I  left.  He  was  caught  at  Murdoch's  pavilion  when 
the  storm  came  up,  and  could  not  get  away.  No  one  knows  just 
where  he  landed." 

M.  F.  Smith,  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Railroad 
was  in  Galveston  during  the  hurricane  and  got  home  to  Dallas  3^es- 
terday.  He  said  that  nothing  he  could  say  would  convey  an  ade- 
quate idea  of  the  storm.  "  I  was  in  the  Tremont  Hotel  Saturda}^ 
when  the  hurricane  began,"  he  continued.  "The  water  came  up 
into  the  rotunda  and  the  wind  blew  with  fearful  force.  Eight  hun- 
dred or  a  thousand  people  took  refuge  in  the  hotel.  It  was  a  scene 
of  pathos  to  see  the  women  and  children  with  hardly  any  clothing, 


THRILLING    NARRATIVES    BY    EYE-WITNESSES.  246 

uot  knowing  where  relatives  or  children  were  scattered  about  the 
corridors  in  deepest  distress.  It  was  remarkable  that  so  few  of 
them  gave  any  outward  sign  or  cry.  Sunday  morning  the  water 
was  gone  out  of  the  rotunda  and  it  was  ankle  deep  in  mud.  I 
went  out  Tremont  street  to  Avenue  N^ ,  where  I  came  to  water. 
People  were  coming  in  toward  the  higher  ground  sick,  wounded 
and  homeless.  One  hundred  men  were  sworn  in  by  the  Mayor 
Sunday  morning  as  a  guard  and  relief  work  began  at  once.  I 
came  out  Monday  morning  on  the  Charlotte  M.  Allen.  From  her 
I  saw  a  barge  loaded  with  corpses  going  to  sea  for  burial  and  an 
other  at  the  dock  was  being  loaded.  A  passenger  on  the  Allen 
counted  fifty  floating  bodies  in  the  bay  on  the  way  up  to  Virginia 
Point.  We  had  to  walk  to  Texas  City  Junction  and  I  saw  Galves- 
ton paving  blocks  on  the  prairie  north  of  Texas  City." 

CAST   UP    BY    THE    HEAVY    WAVES. 

Officers  Williams  and  Curly  Smith  stated  that  the  body  of  a 
woman  that  had  been  buried  at  sea  on  the  east  end  was  washed 
ashore  on  the  beach  near  the  foot  of  Tremont  street.  Attached  to 
the  body  was  a  large  rock  weighing  about  200  pounds.  The  bod}' 
was  carried  to  a  place  back  from  the  water's  edge  and  placed  in  a 
grave. 

While  working  with  a  gang  of  men  clearing  the  wreckage  of 
a  large  number  of  houses  on  Avenue  O  and  Centre  street  to-day 
Mr.  John  Vincent  found  a  live  prairie  dog  locked  in  a  drawer  of  a 
bureau.  It  was  impossible  to  identify  the  house  or  the  name  of  its 
former  occupants,  as  several  houses  were  piled  together  in  a  mass 
of  brick  and  timber.  The  bureau  was  pulled  out  of  the  wreckage 
ii  few  feet  from  the  ground,  where  it  had  been  buried  beneath  about 
ten  feet  of  debris.  The  little  animal  seemed  not  to  be  worse  for 
his  experience  of  four  days  locked  up  in  a  drawer  beneath  a  moun-  i 
tain  of  wreckage.  It  was  taken  home  and  fed  by  ]\Ir.  Vincent,  who 
will  hold  the  pet  for  its  owner  if  the  owner  survived  the  storm. 

Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  destructive  path  of  the  hurri- 
cane can  be  got  from  a  view  of  the  beach  front  east  of  Tremont 
street.     Standing  on  the  high  ridge  of  debris  that  marks  the  line 


246  THRILLING   NARRATIVES   BY   EYE-WITNESSES. 

of  devastation  extending  from  the  extreme  west  end  to  Tremont 
street  an  unobstructed  view  of  the  awful  wreckage  is  presented. 

Drawing  a  line  on  the  map  of  the  city  from  the  centre  of  Tre- 
mont street  and  Avenue  P  straight  to  Broadway  and  Thirteenth 
street  where  stands  the  partly  demolished  Sacred  Heart  Church, 
all  the  territory  south  and  east  of  this  line  is  leveled  to  the  ground., 
The  ridge  of  wreckage  of  the  several  hundred  buildings  that  graced  i 
this  section  before  the  storm  marks  this  line  as  accurately  as  if 
staked  out  by  a 'surveying  instrument.  Every  building  within  the 
large  area  was  razed  by  the  wind  or  force  of  the  raging  waters,  or 
both. 

This  territory  embraces  sixty-seven  blocks  and  was  a  thickly 
populated  district.  Not  a  house  withstood  the  storm  and  those  that 
might  have  held  together  if  dependent  upon  their  own  construction 
and  foundations  were  buried  beneath  the  stream  of  buildings  and 
wreckage  that  swept  like  a  wild  sea  from  the  east  to  the  west,  de- 
molishing hundreds  of  homes  and  carrying  the  unfortunate  in- 
mates to  their  death  either  by  drowning  or  from  blows  of  the  flying 
timbers  and  wreckage  that  filled  the  air. 

WIND    A  HUNDRED    MILES    AN    HOUR. 

The  strongest  wind  blew  later  in  the  evening,  when  it  shifted 
to  the  southeast  and  attained  a  velocity  of  from  no  to  120  miles 
an  hour.  The  exact  velocity  was  not  recorded,  owing  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  wind  gauge  of  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau 
after  it  had  registered  a  100-miles-an-hour  blow  for  two  minutes. 
This  terrific  southeast  wiud  blew  the  sea  of  debris  inland  and  piled 
it  up  in  a  hill  ranging  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  high  and  marking 
the  line  of  the  storm's  path  along  the  southeastern  edge  of  the 
island. 

In  one  place  near  Tremont  street  and  Avenue  P  four  roofs  and 
remnants  of  four  houses  are  jammed  within  a  space  of  about 
twenty-five  feet  square.  Beneath  this  long  ridge  many  hundred 
men,  women  and  children  were  buried,  and  cattle,  horses  and  dogs- 
and  other  animals  were  piled  together  in  one  confused  mass.  While 
every  house  in  the  city  or  suburbs  suffered  more  or  less  from  the 


THRILLING    NARRATIVES    BY    EYE-WITNESSES.  247 

hurricane  and  encroacliment  of  the  Gulf  waters,  the  above  section 
suffered  the  most  in  being  swept  as  clean  as  a  desert.  Another 
area  extending  east  to  Thirteenth  street  and  south  of  Broadway  to 
the  Gulf  suffered  greatl}^,  and  few  of  the  buildings  withstood  the 
storm,  none  without  being  damaged  to  a  more  or  less  extent.  From 
'  Tremont  street  and  Avenue  V}4  the  wind  came  northward  for 
about  two  blocks  and  then  cut  across  westward  to  the  extreme 
limits  of  the  city ;  in  fact,  swept  clear  on  down  the  island  for  many 
miles.  The  path  of  the  levelled  ground  v/est  from  Avenue  P 
cleared  the  several  blocks,  extending  south  to  the  beach  and  west 
to  Twenty-seventh  street.  It  cut  diagonally  southwest  on  a  straight 
line  within  three  blocks  of  the  beach  and  down  west  on  the  beach 
many  miles  beyond  the  city  limits.  This  does  not  mean  that  the 
path  of  the  storm  was  confined  to  this  stretch  of  territory — not  by 
any  means.  There  were  many  blocks  in  the  centre  of  the  city 
almost  totalh^  demolished  by  the  fury  of  the  wind  and  sea,  but  the 
above  long  line  of  about  four  miles  of  the  city  proper  and  many 
miles  of  country  land  were  swept  clean  of  buildings  and  all  other 
obstructions. 

NO  VESTAGE  LEFT  OF  BUILDINGS. 

A  few  of  the  piles  that  once  supported  the  street-railway  trestle 
extending  from  Centre  street  to  Tremont  street  on  the  beach  are 
all  that  remains  to  mark  the  curved  line  of  right-of-way.  Not  a 
vestage  of  the  three  large  bath-houses  of  Keef 's  Pagoda  and  Mur- 
dock  is  to  be  seen. 

The  Midway,  with  its  many  old  shacks  and  frame  houses,  con- 
cert halls  and  other  resorts,  was  swept  to  the  sea,  and  the  Gulf 
now  plays  twenty  feet  north  of  where  the  Midway  marked  the 
beach  line.  The  Olympia-by-the  Sea  likewise  fell  an  early  prey  to 
the  storm,  and  the  surf  which  formerly  kissed  the  elevated  floor  of 
the  Olympia  now  sweeps  across  the  electric  railway  track  about 
fifteen  feet  north  of  the  big  circular  building.  On  Tremont  street  i 
and  Avenue  P}^  two  buildings  stand,  or  rather  two  structures  mark  ' 
where  two  frame  buildings  battled  with  the  raging  elements.  The 
two  house»s  were  occupied  by  Mr.  Joseph  Magilavaca  and  family 


248  THRILLING    NARRahVES    BY    EYE-WITNESSES. 

and  Mr.  C.  Nicolini  and  family.  Both  houses  were  stripped  oi 
every  piece  of  furniture,  wall-paper,  window-frames  and  doors  on 
the  first  floor  and  second  floor  remained  intact.  The  houses  were 
blown  from  their  elevated  foundations  and  dropped  down  on  the 
ground  and  the  sea  washed  the  interior  of  the  first  floors  almost  up 
to  the  ceilings.  The  families  took  refuge  in  a  house  across  the 
'Street,  which  gave  way  and  was  leveled  almost  to  the  ground,  but 
all  the  inmates  escaped  with  their  lives.  These  two  dwellmgs 
stand  like  charmed  structures  in  the  centre  of  the  hurricane's 
track. 

The  Rosenburg  School-house  suffered  severely  on  the  east 
side  of  the  building.  The  roof  of  this  wing  fell  in  and  carried  the 
second  floor  and  nearly  all  of  the  south  wall  with  it.  It  was  re- 
ported that  a  number  of  people  sought  refuge  in  this  building  and 
that  all  of  them  escaped  without  serious  injury. 

TO    HASTEN    ONE    BRIDGE. 

The  indications  this  morning  are  that  there  will  be  reasonably 
free  intercourse  with  the  outside  world  within  ten  days  at  the  most, 
although  those  in  charge  of  transportation  lines  are  rapidly  finding 
that  the  storm  did  more  damage  than  they  had  at  first  calculated 
upon.  x\t  another  conference  the  question  of  utilizing  one  of  the 
railroad  bridges  across  the  bay  and  repairing  that  for  the  use  of 
all  lines  prior  to  the  repairing  of  the  other  bridges  or  the  building 
of  a  steel  bridge  was  practically  settled.  Colonel  L.J.  Polk,  gene- 
ral manager  of  the  Gulf,  Colorado  and  Santa  Fe,  said  that  it  was 
reasonably  certain  that  this  would  be  done,  all  the  roads  concen- 
trating all  their  efforts  to  the  completion  of  one  bridge.  In  regard 
to  his  own  line  he  said: 

"  I  do  not  know  when  the  wrecking  gangs  will  get  to  Vir- 
ginia Point.  The  statement  I  made  to  you  yesterday  that  I 
expected  we  would  have  a  train  to  the  point  to-day  was  based  on 
information  from  the  other  side,  but  it  appears  that  they  did  not 
know  the  amount  of  work  there  was  before  them.  Practically  they 
have  to  build  a  new  track  from  Lamarque  to  the  Point. 

"  We  shall  probably  not  reach  the  bay  on  the  island   side 


THRILLING    NARRATIVES    BY    EYE-WITNESSES.  249 

before  Saturday,  as  the  same  conditions  prevail,  and  we  did  not 
realize  the  immense  damage  the  storm  had  done. 

''We  have  practically  decided  to  unite  in  the  repairing  of  one 
bridge  for  the  use  of  all  lines  for  the  present.  Our  chief  engineer, 
Mr.  Felt,  and  Mr.  Boschke,  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  went  to  the 
mainland  this  morning  to  establish  communication  with  the  parties 
at  interest  who  are  on  that  side.  J.  M.  Barr,  third  vice-president 
of  the  Santa  Fe  system,  and  James  Dun,  chief  engineer  of  the  sys- 
tem, both  of  Chicago,  are  on  the  mainland.  They  came  down  here 
to  assist  in  any  way  they  could  in  the  re-establishment  of  the 
business." 

DAMAGE   TO    THE    WHARVES. 

The  wharf  company  did  not  suffer  badly  so  far  as  the  actual 
wharves  are  concerned,  and  it  comes  from  General  Manager  Bailey 
that  they  will  be  ready  to  handle  the  business  within  seven  or  eight 
days.  Of  course  a  good  deal  of  wharf  flooring  is  torn  up.  The 
most  serious  damage  was  to  the  sheds,  some  of  which  are  complete 
wrecks.  Business  can  be  done  without  sheds,  and  as  long  as  the 
wharves  themselves  are  in  shape  business  can  be  done.  With  the 
rail  lines  established  and  running  again,  freight  can  move  over  the 
wharves.  As  a  matter  of  fact  coal  was  being  discharged  at  the  coal 
elevator  at  pier  34  yesterday.  The  West  End  wharves  are  all 
right,  and  some  of  these  sheds  are  standing.  Of  course  there  is  an 
immense  amount  of  repair  work  to  be  done,  but  this  need  not  inter- 
fere with  the  movement  of  freight. 

Secretary  S.  O.  Young,  of  the  Galveston  Cotton  Exchange 
and  Board  of  Trade,  said  this  morning  that  it  would  be  three  or 
'four  wrecks  before  quotations  could  be  actually  received  here, 
owing  to  the  condition  of  the  exchange  building  and  the  lack  of 
wires  over  which  to  do  business.  The  exchange  building  is  pretty 
badly  wrecked,  the  slate  shingles  having  been  carried  away  on  one 
side  early  in  the  afternoon,  which  let  in  great  floods  of  water  and 
ruined  the  ceilings  and  walls. 

Dr.  Young  suffered  several  severe  bruises  as  a  resultof  the  storm 
and  some  of  his  employes  are  gone.     His  janitors  are  employed  in 


250  THRILLING    NARRATIVES   BY    EYE-WITNESSES. 

the  public  work  of  relieving  the  general  situation.  A  good  many 
cotton  men  who  had  interests  in  the  market  left  a  day  or  so  ago  for 
Houston  and  New  Orleans,  where  they  could  look  out  for  their 
interests. 

The  Masons  started  early  Monday  to  furnish  relief  to  their 
brethren.  They  established  headquarters  in  the  Masonic  Temple, 
which  was  partly  wrecked,  and  have  furnished  food  and  the  neces- 
saries of  life.  All  Masons  in  distress  are  asked  to  go  to  them. 
They  bought  provisions  to  the  amount  of  $500  and  have  been  dis- 
tributing what  they  had.  A  meeting  this  morning  was  held  at 
the  temple  to  organize  a  central  relief  committee  for  more  system- 
atic work,  now  that  the  first  distress  has  been  relieved. 

LOSSES    REPORTED    EVERYWHERE. 

The  Gulf,  Colorado  and  Santa  Fe  Company  notified  Chair- 
man Sealy  of  the  relief  committee  that  there  was  $5000  there  for 
its  use.  The  Santa  Fe  has  suffered  great  loss  itself  and  is  a  flood  suf- 
ferer of  great  proportions  in  dollars  and  cents.  Thomas  Taylor,  a 
cotton  man,  on  Monday  bought  $500  worth  of  men's  clothing, 
which  he  immediately  distributed  to  the  needy.  The  other  men 
of  means  are  coming  forward  with  donations  for  permanent  relief 

The  Galveston  Brewing  Company  suffered  comparatively 
slight  property  loss,  although  it  will  amount  into  the  thousands. 
Their  utility  was  not  impaired  in  the  least,  however,  and  they  are 
making  ice  as  fast  as  they  can,  and  selling  it  at  the  regular  Gal- 
veston rate  30c.  per  100  pounds.  During  the  storm  the  brewery 
building  was  the  haven  of  between  300  and  500  people.  The  men 
employed  at  the  establishment  were  instrumental  in  saving 
between  seventy-five  and  100  people  during  the  storm  by  going 
out  in  it  and  swimming  and  wading  as  best  they  could,  drag- 
ging the  people  into  safety  in  the  brewery. 

Captain  Owens  stated  this  morning  that  in  the  jumble  of  con- 
fusion mention  of  the  practical  destruction  of  the  towns  of  Arcadia 
and  Alta  Loma  had  been  omitted.  At  Arcadia  there  are  about 
150  people  living.  Arthur  Boddeker  lost  his  life  during  the  storm 
and  two  or  three  were  hurt.     At   Alta   Loma  two  children  of  Mr. 


THRILLING    NARRATIVES   BY    EYE-WITNESSES.  251 

Steele  were  killed.  There  are  six  houses  standing.  All  the  gro- 
ceries at  both  places  w^ere  damaged  by  water  and  these  people  are 
in  great  need  of  provisions,  medicines  and  food  for  stock. 

One  old  man  was  found  this  morning  who  stated  that  he  had 
one  hundred  kinfolks  in  Galveston  and  he  is  the  only  survivor. 

Galveston  was  a  place  where  there  were  large  families  by' 
intermarriage,  many  of  which  had  been  established  when  the  city . 
was  but  a  village,  fifty  or  more  years  ago.  These  had  lived  here 
and  increased  until  a  family  of  lOO  was  not  improbable  in  the 
least.  The  case  of  this  old  man  is  probably  an  extreme  one  in 
the  line  of  annihilation,  but  others  have  lost  almost  as  heavily. 

STEAMERS    TORN    FROM    THEIR   MOORINGS. 

General  Agent  Denison  was  unable  to  give  any  definite  infor- 
mation about  the  movements  of  steamers  out  of  Galveston.  There 
are  now  three  here.  The  Alamo  is  aground  on  the  north  side  of 
the  channel,  having  been  torn  from  her  moorings  at  the  wharf  dur- 
ing the  storm  and  swept  to  her  present  position. 

Mr.  Denison  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  might  be  possible 
that  dredging  would  be  necessary  to  relieve  the  steamer.  The 
Comal  arrived  in  port  Monda}^  and  berthed  at  pier  26,  but  was 
unable  to  discharge  much  cargo.  She  moved  down  into  the  roads 
Wednesday  afternoon,  driven  there  because  of  the  stench  at  the 
wharves  and  the  impossibility  of  doing  any  business.  The  Sabine 
arrived  this  morning  and  also  anchored  in  the  roads  to  await  an 
opportunity  to  discharge.  The  wharf  is  in  bad  shape  for  the 
handling  of  cargo,  being  wet  and  muddy  and  torn  up  in  a  good 
many  places. 

There  was  talk  of  urging  Governor  Sayers  to  call  a  special 
session  of  the  Legislature  to  take  action  to  relieve  the  situation  at 
Galveston.  This  was  done  by  Governor  Culberson  in  1S97  in  the 
case  of  El  Paso,  and  is  said  to  be  sanctioned  by  the  State  Constitu- 
tion.    Representative  Dudly  G.  Wooteu,  of  Dallas,  said : 

"  In  regard  to  the  necessity  for  a  specially  called  session  of 
the  Legislature,  it  is  difficult  to  speak  intelligently  unless  we  know 
all  the  conditions.     So  far  as  the  immediate  physical  want.o  of  the 


252  THRILLING    NARRATIVES   BY    EYE-WITNESSES. 

flood-stricken  district  are  concerned,  tlie  liberal  contributions  of 
private  charity  will  readily  meet  the  emergency,  as  has  been 
demonstrated  by  the  generous  manner  in  which  the  people  every 
where,  both  in  Texas  and  outside,  have  responded  to  the  appeals 
for  help.  F'ood,  money  and  all  the  necessaries  to  alleviate  the  pre- 
sent distresses  of  Galveston  and  the  adjacent  coast  are  already  11 
sight  and  being  rapidly  utilized. 

"  But  I  think  the  most  serious  problem  is  the  one  of  sanita- 
tion. It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  results  of  this  flood  are 
such  as  to  create  a  condition  that  will  inevitably  produce  a  pesti- 
lence unless  it  is  dealt  with  promptlv,  intelligently  and  firmly. 
Not  only  Galveston  Island,  but  all  the  rowns  on  the  mainland  and 
all  the  coast  for  many  miles  have  been  subjected  to  an  overflow 
that  has  left  the  country  in  a  deplorable  unsanitary  condition. 
This  is  the  season  of  the  year  when  yellow  fever,  cholera  and 
other  epidemic  diseases  have  usually  originated  and  done  their 
worst  ravages.  If  a  plague  were  to  add  its  horrors  to  the  fearful 
havoc  of  the  winds  and  waves,  then  indeed  would  the  coast  be 
ruined,  and  the  spread  of  the  disease  would  speedily  involve  the 
whole  State  and  the  South  generally,  resulting  in  a  paralysis  of 
commerce  and  a  state  of  terror  and  helplessness,  the  cost  of  which 
cannot  be  even  approximated  or  imagined. 

CALL   FOR    MILITARY    GUARDS. 

"  The  strictest  police  and  sanitary  discipline  and  vigilance  will 
be  required  to  prevent  something  of  this  kind,  and  that  is  where 
the  possible  necessity  of  a  legislative  appropriation  may  become 
miperative.  There  is  practically  no  fund  at  the  command  of  the 
State  authorities  for  those  purposes.  If  the  volunteer  militia  is  to  , 
be  used  to  police  the  stricken  districts,  there  is  only  a  nominsil  sum 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Governor  and  Adjutant-General.  That  fund 
would  not  last  a  week. 

"  Besides,  it  is  likely  that  a  horde  of  vandals  and  vagabonds 
will  congregate  at  the  seat  of  the  calamity  to  prey  on  the  pro- 
visions and  supplies  that  a  generous  public  has  contributed  to  the 
relief  of  the  real  sufferers. 


MEMBERS    OF    THE  GALVESTON     CENTRAL  RELIEF    COMMITTEE 

JUDGE   NOAH   ALLEN                                      WILLIAM   A.   McVITIE  RABBI   HENRY   COHEN 

I       ••       „^..„^.^„  CHAIRMAN 

I.   H.   KEMPNER  CLARENCE  OUSLEY 

REV.  J.   M.   K.   KIRWIN                                                B.  ADOUE  WILLIAM   V.   McCONN 

OF    ST.    MARY'S   CATHEDRAL 


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THRILLmCr   NARRATIVES   BY   EYE-WITNESSES.  253 

"  To  establish  and  enforce  proper  sanitary  regulations,  remove 
the  debris  and  sources  of  infection  and  maintain  an  effective  police 
protection  will  require  rigorous  and  intelligent  organization  under 
State  control  and  adequatel}^  supported  b}^  public  funds.  It  is  not 
to  be  expected  that  the  local  authorities  will  be  equal  to  these  de- 
mands, for  the}'  are  completely'  demoralized  b}^  the  terrible  calam- 
ity that  has  so  recently  swept  over  their  countr}-.  They  are 
exhausted,  unnerved  and  broken  in  bod}-,  mind  and  spirit  by  the 
strain  through  which  the}-  have  passed,  and  are  in  no  condition  to! 
meet  these  after  perils.  This,  in  my  judgment,  is  the  phase  of 
the  problem  that  is  most  serious  and  may  require  legislative  aid. 

HOW    TO    MEET    THE    EMERGENCY. 

"  The  cost  of  a  special  session,  if  the  necessity  exists,  is  not 
to  be  considered,  for  it  is  insignificant  compared  with  the  inestima- 
ble cost  of  the  failure  of  the  State  to  do  its  duty  in  the  premises. 
Besides,  the  expense  of  a  called  session  and  of  an  adequate  appro- 
priation would  be  distributed  over  the  entire  taxpaying  population 
of  the  State  and  would  be  inappreciable  on  each  taxpayer.  It  is 
e.n  emergency  in  which  the  responsibility  for  a  mistake  makes  it  a 
very  troublesome  question  for  the  Governor. 

"  If  there  is  the  danger  that  I  speak  of,  and  I  think  no  doubt 
can  be  entertained  as  to  that,  delay  may  be  fatal  to  any  action  to  be 
hereafter  taken,  for  if  the  plague  should  once  take  root  and  begin 
its  work,  no  amount  of  outlay  and  vigilance  can  ever  compensate 
the  loss  caused  b}^  a  hesitating  or  dilatory  polic}-.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  contributions  made  and  to  be  made  and  the 
agencies  already  at  the  command  of  the  authorities  ma^/  be  ade- 
quate for  the  necessities.  I  do  not  personally  kxiow  just  what  the 
conditions  and  resources  may  be,  but  if  anything  is  to  be  done  it 
must  be  done  speedil}^,  and  the  responsibility  for  errors  is  not  a 
light  one.  I  do  not  doubt  that  the  Governor  is  in  touch  with  the 
situation  and  will  do  his  duty." 

General  H.  B.  Stoddard,  deputy  grand  master  of  the  grand  en- 
campment of  Knights  Templars  of  the  United  States,  one  of  the 
most  exalted  positions  in  America,  returned  to  Houston  from  a  visit 


254  THRILLING   NARRATIVES    BY   EYE-WmNESSES. 

to  Galveston  and  made  his  headquarters  there.  He  went  down  to 
size  up  the  situation  for  the  grand  order  of  which  he  is  the  head. 
He  was  there  two  days,  all  of  which  time  he  used  to  get  accurately 
at  the  facts.  He  moved  about  through  the  city  to  see  for  himself, 
and  also  talked  to  the  prominent  business  men  in  order  to  reach  a 
nearly  accurate  conclusion.  He  met  prominent  officials  of  his  own 
and  other  orders,  together  with  distinguished  physicians. 

"  I  agree  with  statements  that  it  is  a  terrible  disaster,  but  I 
think  some  of  the  estimates  have  been  made  too  high,"  said  he. 
"  I  want  you  to  bear  in  mind  if  m}^  investigation  would  indicate  it, 
I  would  put  the  loss  of  life  at  any  figure,  no  matter  how  great." 

MACHINERY    A    COMPLETE    LOSS. 

Major  R.  B.  Baer,  receiver  of  the  Galveston  City  Street  Rail- 
way, who  is  in  this  city  now,  says  that  to-day  he  telegraphed  the 
Guarantee  Trust  Company,  the  owners  of  the  property,  that  it 
would  take  $200,000  to  $250,000  to  repair  the  damage  to  the  street 
railway.  The  powerhouse  and  machinery  are  a  complete  loss  and 
seven  miles  of  track  is  gone,  as  well  as  all  of  the  trestle  work. 

"  After  the  storm  and  until  I  left  Galveston  yesterday  I  v/alked 
an  average  of  ten  miles  a  day,"  said  Major  Baer,  "and  I  know 
there  is  hardly  a  building  in  the  city  that  is  not  damaged,  while 
the  stocks  of  merchandise  are  damaged  from  25  to  90  per  cent.  The 
Galveston,  Houston  and  Northern  and  the  Santa  Fe  both  expect 
their  roads  to  be  open  to  Virginia  Point  by  Saturday,  and  then  some 
light  draught  steamboats  will  be  put  on  to  pl}^  between  Virginia 
Point  and  Galveston.  Both  of  these  roads  will  commence  work  on 
their  bridges  across  the  bay  as  soon  as  material  can  be  gotten  on 
the  ground.  The  Santa  Fe  has  now  a  force  of  400  men  working 
toward  Virginia  Point  and  a  large  force  on  the  island  repairing 
'  their  track.  The  Southern  Pacific  is  putting  to  work  all  the  men 
they  can  get." 

One  of  the  Texas  journals  made  editorial  comment  as  follows  : 
"  Duty  is  still  all  that  all  can  do.  Many  of  the  survivors  of  the 
storm  are  ill,  others  bruised,  wounded,  broken,  hungry  and  bread- 
less,  others  hapless  orphans,  too  young  to  realize  their  sad  conditiotk 


THRILLING    NARRATIVES   BY    EVE-WITNESSES.  255 

There  has  never  been  in  this  country  an}^  other  disaster  to  be  com- 
pared with  this.  Where  others  have  had  to  battle  against  wind  or 
water,  here  the  man  and  the  woman  and  the  child  have  found  a 
dual  foe — both  wind  and  wave.  Considering  all  the  conditions  and 
forces  and  dangers  and  dreadful  results,  it  may  be  asserted  without 
au}^  word  to  modify  the  statement  that  this  is  the  most  grievous 
calamity  of  modern  times, 

TOO    A^A/FUL    FOR    ^A/ORDS. 

"  It  is  a  stunning  blow  to  every  Texan  whose  heart  is  in  the 
right  place.  It  is  a  calamity  so  dread  that  no  one  can  afford  to  stop 
to  consider  himself  or  his  own  wounds.  The  duty  which  one  owes 
to  others  comes  first.  Many  are  too  far  away  from  the  scene  of 
desolation  and  death  to  do  anything;  but  they  are  not  toofarawa}^ 
to  give  something,  and  thus  to  help  along  the  heartrending  work 
which  is  now  going  on  in  Galveston  and  in  other  places  along  the 
coast.  The  work  of  uncovering  bodies,  of  burying  the  dead,  of 
supplying  the  needs  of  those  who  require  assistance,  is  going  on, 
and  a  beginning  has  been  made  in  cleaning  and  clearing  the  city 
to  prevent  a  general  spread  of  sickness,  which  is  sure  to  come  un- 
less this  work  is  thoroughly  done.  This  task  will  require  a  week 
more,  possibly  many  weeks  more. 

"  The  removal  of  huge  masses  of  bricks,  stones,  timber  and 
decaying  stock  in  large  houses  which  have  gone  down  is  necessar- 
ily a  slow  business,  yet  this  difficult  task  must  be  performed  before 
even  the  work  of  burying  the  dead  can  be  completed.  From  the 
ruins  of  some  houses  of  this  kind  scores  of  bodies  are  yet  to  be 
taken.  Unless  ample  help  is  procurable  this  task  is  almost  a  hope- 
less undertaking.  It  is  in  order  to  repeat  that  it  is  a  duty  which 
must  be  performed  without  delay.  So  far  Texans  have  responded 
nobly.  The  same  may  be  said  of  people  the  country  over.  The 
main  purpose  is  to  keep  before  all  the  fact  that  the  service  of  sym- 
pathy and  mercy  must  be  continued  for  a  little  whil'i  if  the  victims 
of  the  storm  are  to  be  saved  and  succored. 

''As  an  exchange  says,  the  elements  seem  to  have  been  wreak- 
ing vengeance  on  Texas  this  year.     In   April  the   Colorado  and 


2oG  THRILLING    NARRATIVES    BY    EYE-WITNESSES. 

Brazos  Valleys  were  swept  by  floods,  entailing  great  loss  in  life 
and  property.  Anstin  suffered  severely.  This  flood  followed  a 
more  disastrous  one  of  last  year,  which  laid  waste  some  of  the  bes^ 
farms  in  the  State,  destroyed  crops  too  late  for  replanting,  drowned 
thousands  of  cattle,  horses,  mules  and  hogs,  and  nian}^  people. 
With  all  these  recent  disasters  Texas  is  in  a  more  prosperous  con- 
dition than  the  State  has  ever  been  in  before,  taking  the  whole 
country  over. 

"While  certain  of  the  river  valleys  have  been  swept  by  flood, 
the  rich  uplands,  particularly  those  of  north  Texas,  the  orchard  * 
and  garden  lands  of  east  Texas  and  of  the  coast  couutrj^  and  the 
small  grain  and  pasture  lands  of  the  west  have  brought  forth 
abundant  crops,  and,  speaking  generally,  the  people  are  in  a  good 
way.  The  high  prices  for  wheat,  corn,  cotton  and  other  products 
of  the  field  or  ranch  have  told  a  hopeful  story,  and  a  wise  change 
from  the  old-time  one-crop  habit  has  done  much  to  help  along.  In 
spite  of  the  disasters  of  this  and  of  last  year,  barring  the  victims 
of  the  floods  alluded  to,  the  people  of  this  State  are  in  good  condi- 
tion and  quite  ready  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  help  along  their 
less  fortunate  fellow  citizens. 

TEXAS    HAS    IMMENSE    TERRITORY. 

"Texas  is  a  vast  State,  and  this  fact  might  make  it  appear 
that  more  storms  or  other  direful  visitations  fell  to  the  lot  of  this 
people  than  residents  of  other  parts  of  the  country  find  it  necessary 
to  endure.  The  fact  is  that  many  States  have  been  visited  b}^ 
floods  this  season,  and  in  some  places  floods  are  feared  year  after 
year.  So  it  is  of  other  destructive  visitations.  They  must  be 
expected  now  and  then  anywhere  from  Maine  to  California,  or,  for 
that  matter,  at  any  place  the  world  around.  There  is  only  one 
thing  to  do  about  it. 

"  People  must  prepare  in  advance  for  such  troubles  as  far  as 
possible  and  must  stand  ready  to  take  the  consequences  and  make 
the  best  of  them.  So  it  is  now.  So  it  will  continue  to  be,  here 
and  edsewhere. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Refugees  Continue  the  Terrible  Story — Rigid  Military  Patrol 

— The  City  in  Darkness   at   Night — Hungry 

and  Ragged  Throngs. 

PERSONS  who  arrived  in  Dallas  from  Galveston  not  only  con- 
firmed all  that  had  been  said  before  or  written  about  the  dis- 
aster there,  but  gave  more  details  of  the  horror.  -Bach  inter- 
view was  more  distressing  than  the  one  preceding  it,  and  it  seemed 
that  even  an  approximate  idea  of  the  truth  was  3^et  to  be  given. 
Some  accounts  told  of  the  deadl};'  flood.  Others  told  of  the  work 
of  vandals  and  their  speedy  death  at  the  hands  of  Uncle  Sam's 
fighters,  and  of  hunger  and  sickness,  woe  and  miser}^ 

Newt  M.  Smith,  of  Dallas,  who  was  sent  to  Galveston  by  the 
local  insurance  men  c  assist  in  the  relief  of  the  needy  brethren  in 
that  city,  was  one  of  diose  to  return  with  important  information. 

"  When  we  arrived  in  Houston  we  were  informed  that  no  one 
*vould  be  permitted  on  the  train  without  a  pass  from  Mayor  Brash- 
ear,  of  Houston,"  he  said.  "  We  hunted  the  Mayor  up  and  were 
told  that  2000  passes  had  already  been  issued  and  that  the  train 
would  carry  only  800  people.  We  finally  succeeded  in  getting  on 
board  without  passes,  some  of  the  men  climbing  through  the  win- 
dows. Nearly  all  the  dwellings  and  business  houses  of  the  small 
stations  on  the  International  and  Great  Northern  between  Houston 
a.nd  Galveston  are  either  blown  down  or  seriously  damaged. 

"At  certain  places  along  the  railroad  every  telegraph  pole  was 

down  for  a  distance  of  one-half  or  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  poles 

and  wires  being  across  the  track.    Some  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  this 

side  of  the  bay  at  one   place   I  counted  the  carcasses  of  fourteen 

large  cattle  and  horses  that  had   drowned.     Just  before  reaching 

Texas  Cit}^  Junction  it  was  necessary  for  the  passengers  to  abandon 

the    train   for   the   purpose   of   repairing  and   rebuilding   a  bridge 

across  trestle  which  had  washed  away.     Volunteers  were  called  for 
17  257 


258  THRILLING    TALES    BY    REFUGEES. 

to  go  into  the  mud  aud  water,  and  more  men  volanteered  than  conld 
get  around  the  bridge  timbers  to  replace  thei/j. 

"It  required  three  or  four  hours  in  which  to  repair  the  track  at 
this  point,  during  which  some  250  passengers  left  the  train,  taking 
with  them  their  valises,  jugs  of  water  and  provisions,  and  walked 
a  distance  of  six  miles  through  the  mud  and  water  to  Texas 
jCity.  About  two  aud  a  half  miles  west  of  Texas  City,  and 
about  two  miles  from  the  bay,  out  on  the  bald  prairie,  is  a  large 
dredge-boat.  For  fifteen  miles  back  from  the  bay  can  be  seen  mil- 
lions of  feet  of  debris  of  every  description,  including  tops  of  houses, 
sashes,  do6rs,  pianos  and  pieces  of  household  furniture  of  every 
kind.  There  were  something  over  twenty-six  bales  of  cotton  that 
I  counted  out  on  the  prairie  inside  of  that  distance,  all  compressed 
cotton  which  had  evidently  come  from  the  wharf  at  Galveston. 

BURYING   THE    DEAD. 

"  After  arriving  at  Texas  City  we  had  to  wait  two  or  three 
hours  for  a  boat,  and  during  the  time  a  number  of  the  part}'^ 
walked  down  the  beach  and  discovered  and  buried  the  bodies  of 
eight  men,  women  and  children.  A  memorandum  was  taken 
describing  as  well  as  possible  the  people  buried,  and  a  head- 
board put  up  with  a  number  corresponding  to  the  one  in  the  book. 
We  left  Texcs  City  at  3.30  Tuesday  evening,  arriving  at  Galveston 
at  9.30. 

"While  on  the  way  over  we  discovered  the  bodies  of  several 
people  and  quite  a  number  of  horses  aud  cows,  and  as  we  got  off 
the  boat,  just  under  the  wharf  was  a  pile  of  twenty  or  twenty-five 
drowned  people.  Just  after  leaving  the  wharf  we  saw  the  remains 
of  seven  people  which  were  being  prepared  for  cremation.  The 
tow^n  is  under  martial  law,  and  on  my  way  up  to  the  city  I  was 
'  hailed  by  guards  three  different  times,  but  after  explaining  I  was 
permitted  to  proceed. 

''  I  do  not  think  the  conditions  at  Galveston  have  been  over- 
drawn by  the  newspaper  reports.  In  fact,  it  is  more  deplorable 
than  any  words  or  picture  could  portray  to  the  mind.  Before  we 
arrived  several  parties  had  been  sho*^  Om-  robbing  the  dead  and  loot- 


THRILLING    TALES    BY    REFUGEES.  'I'j^ 

iug  houses.  Some  of  our  part}^  walked  down  the  beach  aud  fouud 
a  couple  of  white  meu  who  were  breaking  open  and  robbing  the 
trunks  which  had  floated  ashore,  taking  the  garments  from  them 
and  drying  them  on  the  grass.  These  trunks  contained  all  kinds 
of  famil}^  wearing  apparel. 

"  We  found  that  all  the  insurance  men  of  Galveston  and  their 
immediate  families  were  safe  excepting  two  married  sisters  of  Mr. 
Harris,  who  were  drowned  with  their  eight  children.  They  were 
drowned  in  their  own  yards  and  the  bodies  afterward  recovered  and 
buried  there.  The  loss  to  the  insurance  companies  from  a  finan- 
cial standpoint  will  be  very  heavy  on  account  of  the  cancellation  of 
policies  under  which  there  is  now  no  liabilit}^  the  houses  having 
been  destroyed.  Again,  a  great  many  people  who  are  indebted  to 
the  insurance  agents  cannot  pay  for  the  reason  that  they  have  lost 
everything. 

CITY    WILL     RECOVER    FROM    THE    BLOW. 

''If  the  Government  and  the  railroads  will  repair  and  rebuild 
their  property  in  Galveston  the  cit}^  may  recover  from  the  blow, 
but  unless  this  is  done  there  will  be  very  slim  chances  for  the  city 
to  attain  the  position  as  a  commercial  point  it  has  heretofore  held. 
The  losses  of  life  and  accident  insurance  companies  will  be  some- 
thing enormous. 

"  What  the  people  of  Galveston  need  most,  in.  my  opinion,  is 
lime  and  workingmen,  especially  carpenters  and  tinners.  The  citi- 
zens are  fully  aware  of  the  sympathy  they  are  receiving  and  the 
liberal  manner  in  which  the  people  of  the  country  have  come  to 
their  relief  from  a  financial  standpoint,  but  the  immediate  need  is 
a  sufficient  number  of  hands  to  clean  up  the  city  and  remove  the 
debris.  Among  the  important  buildings  destroyed  were  the  cotton 
mills,  baggage  factory  and  the  electric  light  and  power  houses,  the 
large  elevators  and  the  Texas  flouring  mills,  with  several  million 
bushels  of  wheat." 

W.  E.  Parry,  of  Dallas,  was  one  of  those  who  weathered  the 
hurricane  in  the  union  depot  at  Galveston.  He  said  that  he  was 
particularly  fortunate,  and  did  not  even  get  wet.     In  telling   the 


260  THRIIXING    TALES   BY    REFUCxEES. 

£{ciry  of  his  experience  lie  said:  "  I  left  Houston  Saturday  morn- 
ing and  knew  nothing  of  the  storm  until  we  reached  Virginia 
Point.  The  wind  was  blowing  a  gale  and  the  water  in  the  bay  was 
high  and  a  considerable  sea  running.  We  got  over  on  Galveston 
Island  at  10.30  and  found  the  track  washed  out.  A  switch  engine 
and  a  coach  was  sent  to  us  and  everybody,  including  the  train  crew, 
was  transferred.  The  water  was  rising  all  this  time  and  the  wind 
was  increasing  in  violence.  The  water  got  over  the  track  and  put 
out  the  fire  in  the  engine,  but  the  steam  lasted  long  enough  to  get 
into  the  depot.  While  going  in  the  train  crew  had  to  go  ahead  and 
push  floating  poles  and  ties  and  wreckage  off  the  track. 

"  We  got  to  the  depot  at  2.10  in  the  afternoon.  The  wind  was 
still  growing  stronger  and  the  air  was  full  of  sheets  of  water.  The 
streets  were  waist-deep  and  the  water  was  running  like  a  millrace. 
We  could  see  people  wading  around  trying  to  collect  their  f^imilies 
and  effects,  and  the  bus  was  still  running  between  the  depot  and 
the  Tremont.  I  knew  the  depot  was  a  new,  strong  building,  and  I 
decided  to  stay  there. 

GREAT    GUSTS    OF    WIND. 

"  Every  gust  of  wind  seemed  fiercer  and  more  wicked  than 
any.  It  was  blowing  in  a  straight  line  from  the  northeast  in  great, 
vicious  gusts,  as  if  it  would  tear  down  everj^thing.  Soon  the  water 
came  into  the  ground  floor  of  the  depot,  and  we  had  to  go  to  the 
second  floor.  The  wind  kept  increasing  in  velocit}^  and  began  to 
blow  the  windows  in,  tearing  out  frames  and  all  and  throwing 
them  across  the  rooms.  Men  went  to  work  and  put  additional 
braces  across  the  large  panes  of  glass  and  wedged  them  tight  with 
newspapers. 

"  I  saw  a  boy  driving  an  express  wagon,  trying  to  reach  the 
depot.  A  gust  struck  him,  and  over  went  the  wagon,  horse  and  all, 
the  boy  landing  on  the  sidewalk.  He  was  a  nervy  youngster  and 
came  back,  and  I  could  see  the  knife  in  his  hand  as  he  cut  the  horse 
loose  in  the  water.     He  mounted  and  rode  back  to  town. 

"Night  came  on,  and  still  the  storm  grew  worse  and  worse. 
No  man  can  describe  the  pandemonium  of  sound.     The  wind  would 


THRILLING    TALES    BY    REFUGEES.  26 1 

yell  and  shriek  until  it  resembled  the  cry  of  an  enraged  animal. 
All  sorts  of  missies  were  flying  through  the  air  and  clattering 
against  the  walls.  Cornices,  section  of  tin  and  thousands  of  slates 
from  the  roofs  were  flying  every  way.  The  instinct  to  escape  was 
strong  among  all  in  that  depot,  and  it  was  suggested  that  wc  join 
hands  and  try  to  make  our  way  up  town.  I  told  those  who  wanted 
to  go  that  they  would  be  killed  with  flying  slate,  and  it  was  de- 
cided to  stay. 

"It  is  hard  for  men  to  sit  still  and  do  nothing  when  in  mortal 
fear  of  their  lives,  and  I  saw  men  sit,  clench  their  hands  and  set 
their  teeth,  and  sweat  breaking  out  all  over  them.  It  was  an  awful 
strain  on  the  nerves.  We  reasoned  that  we  were  in  as  good  a  place 
as  we  could  get,  though  no  one  expected  to  live  through  it. 

OLD  GENTLEMAN  WITH  BAROMETER. 

"  There  was  an  old  gentleman  in  the  depot  who  seemed  to  be  a 
scientist.  He  had  a  barometer  with  him,  and  every  few  minutes  he 
would  examine  it  by  the  solitary  lantern  that  lit  the  room,  and  tell 
us  it  was  still  falling  and  the  worst  was  yet  to  come.  It  was  a  dire- 
ful thing  to  say,  and  some  of  the  crowd  did  not  like  it,  but  the  in- 
strument seemed  to  be  reliable.  About  9  o'clock  the  old  man  ex- 
amined it  and  announced  that  it  stood  at  27.90.  I  give  the  figures 
for  the  benefit  of  any  one  who  wants  to  know  the  reading  at  the 
heighth  of  the  storm.  He  announced  to  the  crowd  that  we  were 
gone  and  that  nothing  could  exist  in  such  a  storm. 

"  At  that  time  the  hurricane  was  awful.  Once  in  a  while  I 
could  hear  a  muffled  detonation,  a  sort  of  rumbling  boom.  I  knew 
that  it  was  a  house  falling,  and  it  did  not  add  to  my  comfort.  There 
was  no  lightning  or  thunder,  and  at  times  the  moon  gave  some 
light.  The  clouds  did  not  appear  to  be  up  any  distance,  but  to  drag 
the  ground. 

"  About  10  o'clock  the  old  man  looked  at  his  instrument  and 
gave  a  whoop  of  joy  :  'The  worst  has  passed,'  he  shouted.  '  We 
are  all  safe.  The  storm  will  soon  be  over.'  Few  took  in  the  full 
meaning  of  his  words  for  the  wind  was  still  a  hurricane.  Within 
almost  as  many  minutes  it  had  risen  ten  points  and  we  felt  safe. 


262  THRILLING    TALES    L'.Y    REFUGEES. 

"  I  went  over  the  island  the  next  day  and  words  can  not 
describe  what  I  saw.  Everj^thing  was  wrecked  along  the  gulf 
front  for  three  to  four  blocks  back,  the  ground  was  clear  and  th« 
houses  which  had  stood  there  were  piled  in  a  windrow  which  in 
many  places  must  have  been  fifty  feet  high 

"  What  is  needed  is  able-bodied,  honest  men  to  clean  up  this 
wreck  and  remove  bodies  and  bury  them.  They  want  no  idlers  or 
surplus  people  to  feed  and  protect.  Disinfectants  to  purify  the 
streets  from  the  slime  and  silt  left  by  the  water  are  necessary. 

"  I  saw  600  bodies  in  an  undertaker's  house.  I  saw  them 
loaded  on  floats,  piled  up  like  cotton,  black  and  white  alike,  with 
arms  and  limbs  sticking  out  in  every  direction.  I  must  have 
seen  nearly  a  thousand  bodies  along  the  wharves  and  coming 
across  the  bay.     It  was  frightful." 

ON    THE   BOAT    ALL    NIGHT. 

T.  L.  Monagan,  of  Dallas,  who  went  down  with  the  Dallas 
relief  committee,  returned  and  said  :  "We  got  there  by  wagon  and 
boat  about  10  o'clock  Tuesday  night  and  remained  on  the  boat 
during  the  night.  We  went  over  to  the  hotel  in  the  morning  and 
fouud  relief  work  well  organized.  They  need  men  to  clean  the  debris 
out  of  the  streets  and  to  get  the  city  cleaned  up.  They  are  dispos- 
ing of  the  dead  as  fast  as  possible,  and  the  safety  of  the  living 
precludes  any  dehiy  for  identification.  Many  are  being  buried  at 
sea  and  some  cremated. 

"  W^e  went  over  the  city  and  along  the  gulf  front  saw  the  im- 
mense windrow  of  wrecked  houses.  Not  a  street  from  Tenth  to 
Twenty-Third  was  so  we  could  get  through.  The  ground  fronting 
the  beach  is  clear  of  houses  the  whole  length  of  the  city.  The 
Denver  Resurvey  was  washed  away.  In  my  opinion  the  salt 
meadow  to  the  southwest  of  Virginia  Point  on  the  mainland  must 
be  covered  with  dead  and  wreckage.  It  is  an  awful  thing  and  it 
will  be  thirty  days  before  they  can  get  in  shape  down  there  at  the 
present  rate." 

F.  McCrillis  arrived  from  Galveston.  He  was  in  the  storm 
and   saw  the   frightful  destruction.     He   said:  "The  relief   com- 


THRILLING   TALES   BY    REFUGEES.  263 

mittees  ire  doing  noble  work  on  the  island.  The  people  of  Galves- 
ton ai"'?  rising  to  the  occasion  and  I  never  saw  braver,  stronger- 
hearted  or  more  intelligent  men.  It  is  wonderful  the  way  they 
face  the  fearful  disaster.     They  have  made  no  mistakes. 

"Some  negroes  were  killed  for  looting,  but  since  that  time  it 
has  stopped.  The  work  of  cleaning  up  is  being  pushed  as  rapidly 
as  possible.  Every  Galveston ian  is  confident  that  the  city  will 
rise  from  the  disaster  and  sustain  its  commercial  and  industrial 
position." 

HON.  MORRIS  SHEPPARD'S  ACCOUNT. 

Hon.  Morris  Sheppard,  son  of  Congressman  John  L.  Shep- 
pard,  returned  to  Texarkana  from  Galveston,  sound  and  well, 
though  a  little  broken  up  from  the  shock.  When  seen  he  said 
concerning  his  experience  in  the  Galveston  storm : 

"  I  had  gone  there  to  address  the  Woodmen  Saturday  night, 
but  the  weather  got  so  bad  I  concluded  to  leave.  I  went  to  the 
Unioti  Depot  about  5  o'clock  to  catch  a  train  that  was  to  leave  for 
Houston  a  little  later.  When  the  storm  broke  we  all  ran  up  stairs. 
There  were  about  100  men  and  three  ladies,  and  all  remained  in 
one  room  for  thirteen  hours.  While  the  storm  was  at  its  height 
and  the  waters  were  wildest  a  number  of  men  in  one  corner  of  the 
room  struck  up  the  familiar  hymn,  'Jesus  Lover  of  My  Soul,' 
and  sang  with  great  effect,  especially  the  lines  '  While  the  nearer 
waters  roll,  while  the  tempest  still  is  high,'  etc. 

"  We  all  expected  death  momentarily,  yet  nearly  all  seemed 
resigned ;  several  actually  slept.  The  wind  ripped  up  the  iron 
roof  of  the  depot  building  as  though  it  were  paper.  A  wooden 
plank  was  driven  through  the  iron  hull  of  the  Whitehall,  a  large 
English  merchantman,  whose  captain  said  that  in  his  experience  of 
twenty-five  years  he  had  never  before  known  such  a  fearful  hurri- 
cane. One  lady  clung  to  her  pet  pug  dog  through  it  all,  and  landed* 
him  safely  at  Houston  Monday  morning.  When  daylight  finally 
came,  an  old,  gray-bearded  man  was  seen  near  the  building  wading 
in  water  to  his  armpits.  We  hailed  him  and  requested  him  to  get 
us  a  boat.     He  turned  upon  us  and  cursed  us  with  a  perfect  flood 


281  THRILLING    TALES   BY    REFUGEES. 

of  oatlis,  tlieu  turning  around  walked  deliberately  out  nito  the  bay 
.nd  was  swept  awa3^" 

APPEAL    TO    COLORED    PEOPLE. 

Professor  H.  C.  Bell,  of  Denton,  Grand  Master  of  the  Colored 
Odd  Fellows,  issued  the  following  self-explanatory  circular : 

"  To  the  Lodges  and  Members  of  the  Grand  United  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  in  Texas  :  Dear  Brethren — The  greatest  calamity 
that  has  ever  visited  any  city  in  America  visited  Galveston  on  the 
8th  instant,  leaving  in  its  wake  thousands  of  dead  and  helpless 
people  of  our  race,  together  with  the  white  race.  It  is  our  duty  to 
help,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  to  relieve  the  suffering  condition  of  the 
citizens  of  Galveston.  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  white  citi- 
zens of  Texas  have  always  contributed  freely  to  ameliorate  and 
alleviate  suffering  humanity ;  it  is,  therefore,  our  bouuden  duty, 
and,  indeed,  this  is  a  most  fitting  opportunity  for  us,  as  members 
of  the  greatest  negro  organization  in  the  world,  to  show  to  our 
white  fellow-citizens  of  Texas  the  charitable  spirit  that  has  always 
characterized  Odd  Fellows.  Besides  this,  many  members  of  our 
fraternity  are  victims  of  the  direful  storm  of  the  8th  instant  at 
Galveston.  They  appeal  for  our  assistance.  Therefore,  I,  H.  C. 
Bell,  do  issue  this  appeal  to  the  lodges  and  members  for  relief 
for  our  brethren  in  Galveston." 

The  well-known  writer  and  correspondent,  Joel  Chandler 
Harris,  writing  from  Galveston,  says  : 

"  As  was  naturally  to  be  expected,  the  facts  already  brought  to 
light  show  that  the  devastation  wrought  at  Galveston  and  other 
coast  towns  in  Texas  by  the  unhappy  conjunction  of  v/iud  and  sea 
outrun  and  overmatch  the  wildest  conjectures  of  those  who  were 
calm  enough  immediately  after  the  event  to  give  out  such  estimates 
as  tallied  with  what  their  own  eyes  had  seen. 

"  The  tremendous  loss  of  life  which  has  been  verified  by  all 
accounts  gives  this  harrowing  catastrophe  a  first  place  among 
events  of  the  kind.  Indeed,  among  modern  disasters  it  has  an 
awful  pre-eminence,  and  this  fact  lends  wings  to  a  suggestion  which 
I  shoukl  like  to  emphasize. 


THRILLING    TALES   BY    REFUGEES.  265 

"  It  is  this :  If  the  horror  of  the  calamity  is  to  be  measured 
by  the  loss  of  life,  the  same  measure  should  be  applied  to  the 
pressing  necessities  of  those  who  have  been  stripped  of  everything 
save  life.  However  much  we  may  deplore  the  loss  of  life,  the  dead 
are  done  for.  They  are  beyond  and  above  the  cr3dng  demands  and 
necessities  which  press  upon  those  who  are  left  alive. 

"  In  the  nature  of  things,  the  condition  of  thousands  of  those 
who  have  been  spared  is  far  more  pitiable  than  that  of  the  dead. 
Their  resources  have  been  swept  away  by  wind  and  tide,  and  they 
are  desolate  in  the  midst  of  desolation.  The  catastrophe  was  so 
vast  in  extent  and  so  furious  in  its  sweep  that  it  will  be  many  a 
long  day  before  the  survivors  are  able  to  recover  from  its  effects. 

NEVER    ^VEARY    OF    GIVING. 

"  Outside  aid  is  absolutel}^  necessar}^  in  order  to  prevent  suf 
faring  even  greater  than  that  which  accompanied  the  outburst  of 
the  elements.  The  large-hearted  public  is  never  weary  of  giving 
in  cases  where  the  necessity  of  giving  is  absolute.  With  the  Amer- 
ican public  sympathy  and  pit}^  provoke  unbounded  generosity. 

"All  geographical  lines,  all  differences  are  completely  broken 
down  b}^  any  emergenc}^  which  stirs  the  tender  heart  of  the  people. 
But  it  frequently  happens  that  this  native  generosity  is  not  as 
prompt  to  act  as  necessity  demands,  especially  in  cases  where  the 
least  delay  adds  to  the  suffering  of  those  who  have  been  left  helpless. 
No  tongue  can  tell,  and  no  pen  can  describe  the  awful  results  of  a 
storm  such  as  that  which  has  visited  the  Texas  coast. 

"The  sea  island  of  the  South  Atlantic  coast  had  a  similar  visi- 
tation several  years  ago,  and  the  present  writer  was  commissioned 
to  visit  the  scene  and  depict  the  results.  He  arrived  upon  the 
ground  more  than  a  fortnight  after  the  hurricane  had  passed 
through  the  islands,  and  though  Miss  Clara  Barton  and  her  assist- 
ants of  the  Red  Cross  Society  had  been  able  to  get  in  touch  with 
the  sufferers  more  promptly  than  usual,  there  were  mau}^  still 
on  the  point  of  starvation.  No  doubt  many  perished  within  sight 
and  hearing  of  the  succor  which  the  public  and  the  Red  Cross 
Society  were  so  anxious  to  give. 


266  TITRTLLING    TALES    BY    REFUGEES. 

"  Fortunately,  tlie  islands  are  but  sparsely  populated,  as  com- 
pared witli  the  region  whicli  has  recently  been  devasted,  and  in 
consequence,  there  was  far  less  suffering  than  is  to-day  to  be  found 
in  the  track  of  the  hurricane  which  has  just  wiped  out  whole  com- 
munities and  caused  such  an  extraordinary  loss  of  life.  If  the 
fact  to  be  emphasized  and  insisted  on  is  that  it  was  necessary  for 
generosity  to  act  promptly  after  the  sea  island  catastrophe,  there 
is  a  far  greater  necessity  for  promptness  in  the  present  emergency, 
owing  to  the  larger  number  of  people  involved. 

REFUSED    TO    BELIEVE    THE    TIDINGS. 

"  The  difficulty  in  the  case  of  the  sea  island  hurricane  was  that 
a  large  number  of  conservative  people — the  very  class  which  may  be 
depended  on  to  respond  most  liberally  to  appeals  in  behalf  of  the 
unfortunate— refused  to  believe  the  stories  sent  out  by  the  press 
agents  and  newspaper  correspondents  who  made  haste  to  visit  the 
scene  of  disaster,  placing  them  in  the  category  of  newspaper  sen- 
sations. 

"  The  fact  remains,  however,  that  the  naked  details  of  the  sea 
island  hurricane  never  were  put  in  possession  of  the  public.  Curi- 
ous incidents  and  queer  results  were  dwelt  upon  and  described,  but 
a  detailed  account  of  the  effects  of  that  storm  has  never  been 
printed.  Those  who  have  never  visited  the  scene  of  one  of  these 
elemental  disturbances  can  have  no  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  havoc 
and  ruin  wrought  by  them.  The  results  must  be  seen  and  felt 
before  they  can  be  understood  and  appreciated. 

"  They  are  of  such  a  character  as  to  elude  and  evade  all  efforts 
at  description.  All  the  newspapers  can  do  is  to  give  a  bald  account 
of  incidents. 

"  But  to-day  we  are  face  to  face  with  a  few  of  the  horrors  of  a 
calamity  that  outdoes  any  similar  visitation  with  which  the  nation 
is  familiar.  The  situation  in  the  afflicted  territory  is  piteous  in 
the  extreme.  And  may  the  nation's  blessing  rest  on  all  who  give 
succor  to  those  stricken  by  this  awful  hurricane  curse  of  the  sunny 
southland." 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  awful  scene  that  meets 


THRILIJNG    TALES   BY   REFUGEES.  267 

the  visitors  everywhere,"  said  Clara  Barton,  after  arriving  in  Gal- 
veston. "  The  situation  could  not  be  exaggerated.  Probably  the 
loss  of  life  Avill  exceed  any  estimate  that  has  been  made. 

"  In  those  parts  of  the  city  where  destruction  was  the  greatest 
there  must  still  be  hundreds  of  bodies  under  the  debris.  At  the 
end  of  the  i^^land  first  struck  by  the  storm,  and  which  was  swept 
clean  of  every  vestige  of  the  splendid  residences  that  covered  it, 
the  ruin  is  inclosed  b}^  a  towering  wall  of  debris,  under  which 
many  bodies  are  buried.  The  removal  of  this  has  scarcely  even 
begun. 

PEOPLE  DAZED  INTO  CALM. 

"The  story  that  will  be  told  when  this  mountain  of  ruins  is 
removed  may  multiply  the  horrors  of  the  fearful  situation.  As 
usual  in  great  calamities  the  people  are  dazed  and  speak  of  their 
losses  with  an  unnatural  calmness  that  would  astonish  those  who 
do  not  understand  it. 

"  I  do  believe  there  is  danger  of  an  epidemic.  But  the  nervous 
strain  upon  the  people,  as  they  come  to  realize  their  condition  may 
be  nearly  as  fatal.  They  talk  of  friends  that  are  gone  with  tear- 
less eyes,  making  no  allusion  to  the  loss  of  propert3\ 

"  A  professional  gentleman  who  called  upon  me  this  after 
noon,  a  gentleman  of  splendid  human  sympathies  and  refinement, 
wore  a  soiled  black  flannel  shirt,  without  a  coat,  and  in  apologizing 
for  his  appearance  said  in  the  most  casual,  light-hearted  way: 
*  Kxcuse  my  appearance  :  I  have  just  come  in  from  burying  the 
dead.' 

"  But  these  people  will  break  down  under  this  strain,  and  the 
Red  Cross  is  glad  of  the  force  of  strong,  competent  workers  which 
it  has  brought  to  its  relief. 

"  Portions  of  the  business  part  of  the  city  escaped  the  great- 
est severity  of  the  storm  and  are  left  partially  intact.  Thus  it  is 
possible  to  purchase  here  nearly  all  the  supplies  that  may  be 
wanting.  Still,  the  Galveston  merchants  should  be  given  the 
benefit  of  home  demands. 

"  Mayor  Jones  has  offered  to  the  Red  Cross  as  headquarters 


268  THRILLING   TALES    BY   REFUGEES. 

tlie  Lest  building  at  his  disposal.  Relief  is  coming  as  rapidly  as 
tlie  crippled  transportation  facilities  will  admit.  No  one  need  fear, 
after  seeing  the  brave  and  manly  way  in  which  these  people  are 
helping  themselves,  that  too  much  outside  aid  will  be  given." 

Reported  dead  several  times,  their  obituaries  printed  in   Gal 
veston  and  Houston,  Peter  Boss,  wife  and  son,  formerly  of  Chicago, 
were   found,  after  having  passed  through  a  most  thrilling  expe- 
rience. 

TRIED    TO    ESCAPE    WITH    HER    MONEY. 

Mrs.  Boss'  story  of  her  experience  in  the  disaster  Mas  a  thrill- 
ing one.  With  her  husband  and  son  she  was  seated  at  supper  in 
her  home  on  Twelfth  street  when  the  storm  broke.  She  seized  a 
handkerchief  containing  $2000  from  a  bureau,  and,  j^hicing  it  in 
her  bosom,  went  with  her  husband  and  the  son  to  the  second 
story. 

There  the}-  remained  until  the  water  reached  them  and  they 
leaped  into  the  darkness  and  the  storm.  They  lit  on  a  wooden 
cistern  upon  which  they  rode  the  entire  night,  clinging  with  one 
hand  to  the  top  of  the  cistern.  Several  times  Mrs.  Boss  lost  her 
hold  and  fell  back  into  the  water,  only  to  be  drawn  up  again  by  her 
son.  Timbers  crashed  against  their  queer  boat,  people  on  all  sides 
of  them  were  crushed  to  death  or  drawn  into  the  whirling  waters, 
but  with  grim  perseverance  the  Boss  family  held  on  and  rode  the 
night  out. 

Mrs.  Boss  was  pushed  off  the  cistern  several  times  by  her 
excited  husband,  but  young  Boss'  presence  of  mind  alwa3'S  saved 
her.  With  her  feet  crushed  and  bleeding,  her  clothing  torn  from 
her  body  and  nearly  exhausted,  the  woman  was  finally  taken  from 
her  perilous  position  several  hours  after  the  hurricane  started. 

Her  companions  were  without  clothing  and  were  delirious. 
They  were  the  only  persons  saved  from  the  entire  block  in  which 
they  lived.  They  were  taken  to  emergency  hospitals,  where  they 
all  tossed  in  delirium  until  Sunday.  Airs.  Boss  lost  her  money, 
and  the  family,  wealthy  a  week  before,  was  penniless.  They  had 
to  appeal  to  the  city  authorities  for  aid,  and  got  but  little. 


THRILLING  Tales  lv  Refugees.  ^tJs^ 

A  Chicago  journal  established  a  Relief  Bureau  at  Galveston, 
and  sent  thither  a  special  commissioner  who,  under  date  of  Sep- 
tember 15,  gave  the  following  account : 

"I  spent  part  of  last  uight  with  the  Chicago  American  Relief 
Bureau.  I  had  no  business  there.  The  nurses  and  doctors  had 
done  all  there  was  to  do.  They  have  worked  like  great  big-spirited 
Trojans.  The  babies  were  all  abed  and  asleep.  The  women  were 
fed  and  the  homeless  and  destitute  men  who  had  wandered  in  for 
shelter  had  been  tucked  away  in  the  gallery  and  made  as  comfort- 
able as  possible. 

A    HEROIC    LAD. 

''The  gas  was  out  in  the  great  theatre,  and  a  few  candles  shed 
a  flickering  light.  A  lad  told  this  story :  He  lost  ever}'  one 
on  earth  he  loved  and  who  loved  him  in  the  flood.  He  swam 
two  miles  and  over  with  his  little  brother  on  his  back,  and  then 
saw  his  brother  killed  by  a  piece  of  falling  timber  after  thc}^  had 
reached  dry  land  and  what  he  supposed  was  safety. 

"  He  is  sixteen  years  old,  this  boy  of  mine ;  tall  and  strong  in 
every  wa}^,  and  when  he  had  dug  a  shallow  grave  in  the  sand  for 
his  little  brother  he  went  up  and  down  the  prairies  and  buried 
those  he  found.  Alone  in  the  declining  sun,  without  food  or 
water,  impelled  by  some  vague  instinct  to  do  something  for  some 
one,  this  boy  did  this,  and  yesterday  they  found  him  fainting  in  a 
field  and  brought  him  to  us.  We  put  him  to  bed,  made  him  take 
a  bowl  of  soup  and  gave  him  a  bath. 

"  He  seemed  perfectly  amazed  at  the  idea  that  any  one  should 
want  to  do  anything  for  him.  We  only  got  his  story  out  of  him 
by  persistent  and  earnest  questioning.  He  said  there  was  none 
to  tell.     Last  night  he  was  talking  in  his  sleep. 

" '  That's  all  right,  Charle}^,'  he  said  over  and  over  again. 
'  Brother  won't  let  you  get  hurt.  Don't  you  be  scared,  Charlc}', 
and  I  will  save  you  !'  and  he  threw  his  arms  out  and  about  as  if  he 
was  swimming. 

"  Hour  after  hour  he  swam  and  hour  after  hour  he  comforted 
his  little  brother,  and  when  T  biid  my  hand  on  his  forehead  and  he 


270  THRILLLXG   TALES   P.Y    REFUGEES. 

woke  aud  remembered  where  lie  was,  lie  smiled  up  into  m}^  face  as 
a  tired  child  would  smile  into  the  face  of  one  he  loved,  and  went  to 
sleep  and  began  to  swim  through  the  black  and  troubled  waters 
with  Charley  on  his  strong  young  shoulders  again. 

"  He  is  utterly  alone  in  the  world  now.  The  doctors  are  a 
little  afraid  of  brain  fever  for  him,  but  I  believe  we  can  stave  it  off, 
and  if  we  can  we  are  going  to  keep  him  in  the  relief  corps  and 
give  him  work  and  something  to  do  and  live  for  as  long  as  we  are 
here.  His  name  is  on  the  list  of  patients  published  with  this  arti- 
cle. If  an3'one  who  sees  it  remembers  and  wants  to  befriend  this 
boy  telegraph  to  the  American  F.elief  Bureau  at  Houston  and  we 
will  attend  to  it. 

HUNGRY    AND    HALF    CLAD. 

"There  was  a  new  party  of  them  which  came  in  last  night 
late  from  Galveston.  About  fift}^  came  in  after  lo  o'clock,  hungry, 
half  clad  and  worn  to  the  very  edge  of  human  endurance.  They 
stood  timidl}^  at  the  door  and  one  of  them  begged  for  shelter  as  if 
she  thought  she  would  be  refused.  Most  of  our  cots  with  mat- 
tresses in  them  were  taken,  but  that  did  not  make  any  difference. 
Dr.  Bloch,  of  Chicago,  and  Dr.  O'Brien,  of  New  York,  got  their 
heads  together  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  every  one  of  those 
fifty  people  had  some  sort  of  a  bec^  *-.o  sleep  on  and  in' three-quarters 
of  an  hour  they  were  all  fed. 

"  We  engaged  two  cooks,  a  man  and  a  woman,  yesterday,  but 
neither  of  them  came.  That  did  not  make  the  slightest  particle 
ot  difference.  Whoever  was  hungry  was  fed  at  the  relief  station, 
and  whoever  was  naked  was  clothed  and  whoever  was  sick  was 
attended.  Nobody  knew  or  cared  how  long  they  had  been  work- 
ing or  whether  they  themselves  had  time  to  get  a  morsel  of  food. 
Everybody  did  everything.  I  saw  Dr.  O-'Brien  down  on  his  knees 
taking  off  a  pair  of  soaked  shoes  for  a  woman  who  was  so  tired  she 
could  not  lift  her  hand  to  her  head. 

"The  fear  of  pestilence  has  become  so  widespread  that  the  au- 
thorities are  taking  measures  to  prevent  a  wholesale  exodus  of  able- 
bodied  men,  whose  services  are  urgently  needed  at  the  present  time. 


THRILLLNG   TALES   BY   REFUGEES.  27l 

The  dread  of  plague  has  seized  upon  the  negro  population  so 
strongly  that  in  some  instances  they  refuse  to  work  in  cleaning  up 
the  city. 

'■  The  tidal  wave  caused  a  heavier  loss  of  life  along  the  coast 
west  of  Galveston  than  was  at  first  supposed.  Scores  of  corpses 
are  being  found  lying  along  the  beach.  Some  of  the  bodies  ma}^ 
be  those  who  were  buried  at  sea  from  Galveston  and  floated  into 
shore  again,  but  the  position  of  many  shows  that  the}^  were  natives 
of  the  little  coast  towns  suburban  to  Galveston.  When  more  order 
is  made  at  Galveston  attention  will  be  turned  to  those  places  and 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  there  will  be  buried  or  burned. 

"  The  work  of  disposing  of  the  bodies  is  being  expedited  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  but  the  crying  need  is  disinfectants.  Hundreds 
of  barrels  of  lime  are  being  asked  for  in  order  to  prevent  contagion. 
Health  officers  say  that  the  worst  is  to  be  feared  from  the  small 
pools  of  stagnant  water  which  fill  cellars  of  the  wrecked  houses 
and  the  clogged  drainage  system. 

CLOTHING    AND    PROVISIONS. 

"The  Chicago  corps  of  surgeons  and  nurses,  under  Dr.  L.  D, 
Johnson,  buried  thirty-two  bodies  between  the  hours  of  i  A.  M. 
and  8  A.  M.  to-day  in  Alvin,  Hitchcock  and  Seabrook,  and  gave 
provisions,  clothing  and  medicine  to  300.  Its  members  also  at- 
tended to  twenty-six  persons  suffering  from  broken  bones,  cuts  and 
other  wounds  requiring  surgical  work,  and  nursed  more  than  fift}^ 

"  This  is  considered  the  greatest  piece  of  relief  work  done 
since  the  storm.  The  bodies  buried  had  been  lying  in  the  fields  a 
week,  and  were  decomposed  and  spreading  disease  germs.  An  extra 
car  of  provisions  is  being  shipped  to  that  district. 

"  Insanity  is  developing  among  the  sufferers  at  a  terrible  rate. 
It  is  estimated  by  the  medical  authorities  that  there  are  500  de- 
ranged men  and  women  who  should  be  in  asylums,  and  the  numbei 
is  increasing.  These  poor  creatures  form  the  most  pitiable  side  of 
Galveston's  horror.  They  stand  in  groups  and  cry  h3^stericall3\ 
They  are  harmless,  for  their  troubles  have  left  them  without 
strength  to  do  harm. 


272  THRILLLXG   TALES    BY    REFUGEES. 

"  Mentall}'  uubalanced  by  tlie  suddenness  and  horror  of  their 
\osses,  men  and  women  meet  on  the  streets  and  compare  their 
"■■osses  and  then  laugh  the  laugh  of  insanity  as  a  newcomer  joins 
the  group  and  tells  possibly  of  a  loss  greater  than  that  of  the 
others.  Their  laughter  is  something  to  chill  the  blood  in  the  veins 
of  the  strongest  men.  They  are  maddened  with  sorrow,  and  do 
not  realize  their  losses  as  they  will  when  reason  returns,  if  it  ever 
returns. 

"  Some  of .  them  are  absolute  raving  maniacs.  One  man, 
Charles  Thompson,  a  gardener,  as  soon  as  he  was  out  of  personal 
danger  that  awful  night,  commenced  rescuing  women  and  children, 
and  saved  seveut}^  people.  He  then  lost  his  mind.  Two  police- 
men were  detailed  to  capture  him,  but  he  heard  them  approaching 
and  leaped  from  the  third-story  window  of  an  adjoining  building 
and  escaped. 

THE    YOUNGEST    NURSE. 

"The  Chicago  Relief  Corps  has  the  youngest,  and,  consider- 
ing her  years,  most  efficient  nurse  among  the  hundreds  engaged  in 
relief  work.  She  is  Rosalea  Glenn,  eleven  years  old,  a  refugee 
from  Morgan  Point.  Together  with  her  mother,  Mrs.  Alinnie  F. 
Glenn,  and  two  smaller  children,  she  was  received  at  the  hospital 
last  night. 

"  To-day  Rosalea  asked  to  be  assigned  to  part  of  one  of  the 
wards.  Slie  astonished  trained  nurses  by  her  cleverness,  and  her 
services  proved  as- valuable  as  those  of  any  one  on  the  force.  She 
is  now  the  hospital  pet.  Her  father  is  Albert  W.  Glenn,  a  boat- 
man. The  home  of  the  Glenns  was  washed  away,  but  the  family 
were  saved  by  a  flight  of  seven  miles  into  the  countr}^ 

"Some  of  the  advertisements  in  the  Galveston  News  are  very 
striking.  Garbadee,  Iban  &  Co.  make  this  announcement :  '  Our 
help  has  generously  volunteered  to  work  to-day  to  assist  the  neces- 
sities of  the  flood  sufferers.  Our  store  will  open  from  9  A.  M.  un- 
til 5  P.  M.     Orders  from  the  Relief  Committee  will  be  filled.' 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Dead    Babes    Floating    in    thtj     Waters — Sharp    Crack    of 
Soldiers'    Rifles— Tears  Mingle  With   the    Flood- 
Doctors  and  Nurses  for  the  Sick  and  Dying. 

ONE  of  the  most  harrowing  experiences  during  the  scene  of 
destruction  and  death  at  Galveston  was  that  of  a  young  lady 
belonging  to  Elgin,  Illinois.  Stamped  upon  her  mind  until 
she  shuddered  and  cried  aloud,  that  she  might  forget  all  its  horrors 
and  terrible  memories,  Miss  Pixley  stood  in  the  Dearborn  Street 
Station  and  told  of  the  Galveston  flood.  Surrounded  by  her  rela- 
tives and  friends  who  had  given  her  up  as  dead,  Miss  Pixle}^,  who 
was  the  first  arrival  from  the  storm  swept  district,  told  her  story 
between  outbursts  of  bitter  tears. 

"  Oh,  those  eyes,"  she  cried,  "  that  I  might  put  them  from  my 
mind.  I  can  see  those  little  children,  mere  babies,  go  floating  by 
m}^  place  of  refuge,  dead,  dead !  God  alone  knows  the  suffering  I 
went  through.  Thousands,  yes,  thousands,  of  poor  souls  were 
carried  over  the  brink  of  death  in  the  twinkling  of  an  e3^c^  and 
saw  it  all." 

MISS    PIXLEY'S    GRAPHIC    STORY. 

This  is  her  story,  as  she  told  it :  "I  had  been  in  Galveston  foi 
about  six  weeks,  visiting  Miss  Lulu  George,  who  lives  on  Thircy- 
fifth  street.  It  was  not  until  after  the  noon  hour  of  Saturday  that 
we  were  frightened.  Buildings  had  gone  down  as  mere  egg  shells 
before  that  death-dealing  wind. 

"About  1.30  o'clock  I  told  Miss  George  that  we  must  make 
our  way  to  another  building  about  half  a  block  away.  The  water 
had  risen  over  five  feet  in  two  hours,  and  as  I  hurried  to  the  front 
door  the  wind  tore  down  ni}^  hair  and  I  was  blinded  for  a  time. 

"  I  turned  my  eyes  to  the  west  and  for  three  long  miles  there 
was  not  a  building  standing,  evervthing  had  been  swept  away. 
^»  273 


2?4  RIvLlHF   WORK   FOR  TIIK   SICK   AND   DYING. 

How  we  ever  reached  the  two  story  building  a  hundred  yards  awaj' 

1  liu  not  know.      We  waded  through  the  water  and  every  few  min- 

uLes  we  were  carried  off  our  feet  and  dashed  against  the  floating 

debris. 

ALMOST    DROWNED    IN    CELLAR. 

"  The  building  we  were  trying  to  reach  was  a  store  and  the 
foundation  kept  out  the  water.  We  hurried  to  the  cellar  and  stayed 
there  for  several  hours.  At  last  the  wind-swept  waves  found  an 
opening  and  broke  through  the  foundation  and  we  had  a  mad  run 
to  escape  the  rushing,  swirling  waters. 

"  We  reached  the  first  floor  and  I  shrank  into  a  corner,  expect 
ing  ever}^  second  to  be  carried  out  to  my  death.     How  it  happened 
I  can  never  tell,  but  this  and  one  other  building  were  the  only  ones 
left  for  blocks  around.  As  it  was,  several  people  w^ere  killed  in  the 
building  we  occupied  and  the  other  house  that  was  left  standing. 

"  After  a  time  I  felt  faint  from  hunger  and,  while  too  weak  from 
fright  to  seek  food,  I  told  Miss  George  that  I  would  go  into  another 
room.  I  staggered  along  the  floor  until  I  reached  a  window,  and 
fell,  half  faintino;,  through  it.  As  I  leaned  there  I  witnessed  sights 
that  I  pra}^  God  will  never  make  another  see. 

BLOOD-CHILLING    SCENES. 

"  Whirling  by  me,  bodies,  more  than  I  could  dare  count,  were 
crushed  and  mangled  between  a  jumble  of  timbers  and  debris. 
Men,  women  and  children  went  b}^,  sinking,  floating,  dashing  on  1 
know  not  where.  I  wanted  to  close  my  eyes,  but  I  could  not.  I 
cried  aloud  and  made  an  attempt  to  go  to  ni}^  friends,  but  I  was 
exhausted,  and  all  I  could  do  was  to  watch  the  terrible, scenes. 

"  Babies,  oh,  such  pretty  little  ones,  too,  were  carried  on  and 
((m,  gowned  in  dainty  clothing,  their  eyes  open,  staring  in  mute 
'terror  above,  l^hank  Providence  they  were  dead.  I  was  partly- 
blinded  by  tears,  buu  I  could  still  see  through  the  mist.  Little 
arms  seemed  to  stretch  toward  me  asking  assistance  and  there  I 
lay,  half  prostrated,  too  weak  to  lend  assistance. 

''  How  it  all  ended  T  know  not.  I  must  have  fainted  for  I 
awakened  v;ith  '  We  are  saved,  Alice,'  ringing  in  my  ears. 


RRLIF.F    WORK    FOR     1  HI-    SICK    AND    DYING.  275 

FLEES    FROM    HORRIBLE    SIGHTS. 

"  When  I  found  we  could  get  ont  of  the  city  I  declared  I  would 
go  at  all  cost.  I  thought  of  home  and  my  parents  and  I  wanted  to 
telegraph,  just  like  thousands  of  others,  that  I  was  safe. 

"  It  was  days  before  we  could  get  away,  however,  and  then  it 
was  in  a  most  terrible  confusion.  Eighty-eight  persons  crowded  on 
a  small  boat  and  started  for  Houston. 

"  The  day  we  left  the  militia  was  out  in  all  its  force.  I  could 
hear  the  sharp  reports  of  a  rifle  and  the  wail  of  some  soul  as  he 
paid  the  penalty  for  his  thieving  operations. 

"  Later  I  saw  the  soldiers  with  their  glistening  rifles  leveled 
at  scores  of  men  and  saw  them  topple  forward  dead.  Oh,  they  had 
to  shoot  those  terrible  beasts,  for  they  were  robbing  the  dead.  They 
groveled  in  blood,  it  seemed. 

"I  saw  with  myowai  ej^es  the  Angers  of  women  cut  ofl"  by 
regular  demons  in  the  search  for  jewels.  The  soldiers  came  and 
killed  them  and  it  was  well. 

HUMAN    BODIES    IN    FIRE    HEAP. 

"  As  we  made  uur  waj^  toward  the  boat  that  was  to  take  us 
from  the  City  of  Death  I  saw  great  clouds  of  smoke  rising  in  the 
air.  Upon  the  top  of  flaming  lioards  thousands  of  bodies  were 
being  reduced  to  ashes. 

"  It  was  best,  for  the  odor  tliat  arose  from  the  dead  bodies  was 
awful.  Still  it  made  one's  heart  ache  with  a  sorrow  never  to  be 
equaled  as  one  witnessed  little  children  tossed  into  the  midst  of 
the  hissing  flames.      Do  you  wonder  I  cr}'  ? 

"  Before  me,  no  matter  which  way  I  turned,  I  could  see  dead 
bodies,  their  cold  eyes  gazing  at  me  with  staring  intentness.  I 
closed  my  eyes  and  stumbled  forward,  hoping  I  might  escape  for 
a  moment  the  sight  of  dead  bodies,  but  no ;  the  moment  I  would 
open  them  again,  right  at  my  feet  I  would  find  the  form  of  some 
poor  creature. 

"  Coming  to  Chicago  on  the  train  I  read  the  papers.  The}'' 
are  mistaken,  away  wrong;  The}^  onl}'  sa}^  5,ooo  dead.  It  will  be 
more  than  10,000.     I   know  I  am  right ;  every  one  in  Galveston 


270  RHUKF   WORK   FOR    rlllv   SICK   AND   DYING. 

talks  of  12,000,  15,000  aud  iS,ooo  dead,  but  it  will  be  10,000  at  the 
very  least. 

"  I  believe  the  worst  sight  I  witnessed  was  the  2,800  bodies 
being  carried  out  to  sea  and  buried  in  the  gulf.  Huge  barges  were 
tied  to  the  wharfs  and  loaded  with  the  unknown  dead.  As  fast  as 
one  barge  was  filled  it  made  its  wa}^  out  from  the  shore,  and  weight- 
ing the  bodies,  men  cast  them  into  the  water." 

I.  Thompson,  a  young  man  who  was  very  active  in  saving  lite 
during  the  night  of  the  storm,  became  insane  because  of  the  awful 
scenes  he  witnessed.  Thompson's  friends  first  noticed  his  condi- 
tion when  he  told  that  one  of  the  persons  he  rescued  had  deposited 
$10,000  in  one  of  the  banks  to  his  credit,  and  that  he  was  going  to 
live  in  luxury  the  rest  of  his  life. 

TRAGIC    INCIDENTS. 

Thompson  retired  to  his  room,  on  the  third  floor  of  the  Wash- 
ington Hotel,  seemingly  sane.  Soon  afterwards  he  began  to  moan, 
and  soon  became  violent,  rushing  from  one  side  of  his  room  to  the 
other  and  declaring  his  determination  to  commit  suicide.  Em- 
ployes of  the  hotel  did  all  they  could  to  pacify  the  man,  and  during 
the  night  he  became  more  rational  and  lay  down.  The  person 
engaged  to  watch  him  was  compelled  to  leave  the  room  for  a  short 
time  early  in  the  morning,  and  when  he  returned  he  found  that 
Thompson  had  wrenched  the  shutters  off  his  window  and  leaped 
out  upon  an  awning  and  thence  to  the  street. 

Thompson  was  seen  to  run  toward  the  bay,  and  in  all  proba- 
bility he  threw  himself  overboard  and  was  drowned,  as  he  was  not 
seen  or  heard  of  afterward. 

Another  case  is  that  of  a  young  woman  who  was  ^caught  in 
the  rain,  and^  with  two  other  women  and  about  fifty  men  and  boys, 
found  refuge  in  an  office.  It  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  she 
could  restrain  herself  during  the  fearful  storm,  and  she  frequentl}' 
became  hysterical  and  cried  out  for  her  mother,  sisters  and  her 
brother  and  his  family.  As  the  storm  gradually  subsided  the 
j-'oung  woman  l)ecame  more  calm,  and  w^hen  morning  broke  she 
started  for   her  home  quite  reassured.     She  found  a  wild  waste  of 


RELIRF  WORK   FOR   THE   SIGK   AND    DYING.  277 

waters  sweCj/iiig  over   the  site  of  Tier  home.      Her  dear  ones  were 

missing. 

Among  the  first  victims  carried  into  the  temporar}^  morgne  were 

the  yonng  woman's  mother,  brother  and  two  children.    These  were 

qnickl}^  followed  b}'  her  brother's  wife  and  her  two  sisters.     The 

shock    overthrew    the    girl's    reason,  and    she  became  a   nervous 

wreck,  without  a  relative  in  the  world. 

i  Hundreds  of  such  tragic  incidents  as  these  marked  the  week, 

and  the  number  of  men  and  women  who  lost  their  reason  was  very 

large. 

HARROWING  TALES  TOLD  BY  SURVIVORS. 

Many  strange  incidents  of  the  hurricane  were  gathered  from 
the  tales  of  the  survivors.  They  told  of  pitiable  deaths,  of  fearful 
destructions  of  property  and  of  strange  incidents  of  the  great  force 
of  the  storm.  The  following  are  just  a  few  of  the  many  that  were 
told  by  refugees  in  this  city : 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  escapes  recorded  during  the  flood 
was  that  of  a  United  States  batteryman  on  duty  at  the  forts,  who 
had  been  picked  up  on  Morgan's  Point,  wounded  but  alive.  He 
had  buffeted  the  waves  for  five  days  and  lived  through  a  terrible 
experience.     Ivlorgan's  Point  is  thirty  miles  from  Galveston. 

iVnother  man  who  passed  though  a  similar  experience  was 
found  floating  on  the  roof  of  a  house  on  the  open  sea,  over  one 
hundred  miles  distant  from  Galveston.  He  was  half  famished, 
but  quickly  recovered  upon  being  taken  aboard. 

Dr.  H.  C.  Buckner,  of  the  Buckner  Orphan's  Home  at  Dallas, 
brought  with  him  from  Galveston  thirty-six  little  children  who 
were  made  homeless,  fatherless  and  motherless  by  the  storm. 
Many  of  the  children  were  suffering  from  cuts  and  bruises,  and  all 
were  destitute  of  clothing  except  the  tattered  and  torn  garments 
which  they  had  on  their  backs.  They  were  taken  to  the  Child-, 
ren's  Hospital  in  Haskell  avenue,  in  Dallas,  to  have  their  wounds 
treated  and  to  recuperate  before  being  sent  to  the  home  proper,  six 
miles  east  of  the  city.  The  children  are  from  all  walks  of  life, 
and  were  takerx  in  charge  by  Dr.  Buckner  while  in  Galveston  as 
the  ones  most  in  need  of  immediate  attention. 


278  RELIEF    WORK    FOR    THE   SICK    AND    DYING. 

Reports  show  that  three-fourths  of  the  Velasco  people  lost 
their  homes  and  four  persons  were  drowned.  Eight  bodies  were 
washed  ashore  at  Surfside,  supposed  to  he  from  Galveston.  At 
Quintana  75  per  cent,  of  the  buildings  are  destroyed.  No  lives 
were  lost  there,  though  a  number  were  injnred.  Velasco  has 
hardly  a  house  that  will  bear  inspection.  People  are  suffering  for 
the  necessities  of  life  and  many  who  are  sick  need  medicines. 

At  Seabrooke,  Texas,  thirty-three  out  of  thirty-four  houses 
floated 'awa}''  and  twenty-one  people  were  drowned.  At  Hitchcock 
a  large  pile-driver  of  the  Southern  Pacific  works  at  Galveston,  and 
also  a  large  barge  partl}^  laden  with  coal,  are  lying  in  the  pear 
orchards  several  miles  from  the  coast.  Box  cars,  railway  iron, 
drawbridges,  houses,  schooners  and  all  conceivable  things  are  lying 
over  the  prairie,  some  fifteen  miles  from  their  former  location. 

A    TRAGIC    WEDDING    CEREMONY. 

At  the  Tremont  Hotel  in  Galveston  a  wedding  occurred 
Thursday  night,  which  was  not  attended  with  music  and  flowers 
and  a  gathering  of  merrymaking  friends  and  relatives.  Mrs. 
Brice  Roberts  had  expected  some  day  to  marry  Earnest  Mayo. 
The  storm  which  desolated  so  many  homes  deprived  her  of  almost 
everything  on  earth — father,  mother,  sister  and  brother.  Sbe  was 
left  destitute.  Her  sweetheart,  too,  was  a  sufferer.  He  lost  much 
of  his  possessions  in  Dickinson,  but  he  stepped  bravely  forward 
and  took  his  sweetheart  to  his  home. 

A  pathetic  story  cf  the  Galveston  flood  is  that  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Quayle,  of  Eiveipool,  England,  who  is  now  on  her  journey  home. 
She  had  only  been  two  days  in  the  city  with  her  husband  when 
the  storm  came.  She  goes  home,  her  husband  dead,  and  herself  a 
nervous  wreck.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Quayle  had  taken  apartments  in 
Lucas  terrace,  Galveston.  During  the  storm  Mr.  Qua3de  went  to 
a  window,  when  a  sudden  burst  of  wind  tore  out  the  panes  and 
sucked  him,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  house.  Mrs.  Quayle,  m  the  rear 
of  the  room,  was  thrown  against  a  wall  and  stunned.  No  trace  of 
her  husband's  body  has  been  found. 

It  will  be  a  long  time  before  many  of  the  survivors  of  the  Gal- 


RELIEF  WORK  FOR  THE  SICK  AND   DYING.  279 

veston  catastrophe  can  appreciate  the  nature  of  the  calamity  which 
has  befallen  them.  One  woman  laughingly  told  another  that  she 
had  saved  her  baby,  bnt  that  her  two  boys  and  her  husband  had 
been  drowned.     She  was  evidently  insane. 

An  eye-witness,  writing  on  September  i6th,  said:  "  Galveston 
is  striving  manfully  to  rise  from  its  ashes.  A  reign  of  terror  has 
been  averted,  Hope  crowns  the  day.  More  than  a  thousand  men 
are  clearing  the  streets  of  debris.  They  are  working  night  and 
day.  Their  efforts  so  far  have  been  expended  in  picking  up  car- 
casses and  gathering  bodies  into  piles  and  burning  them.  Separate 
pyres  are  built  for  human  bodies  and  animals,  and  the  work  pro- 
gresses rapidly.  The  task  is  heartrendering,  and  many  able  bodied 
men  have  succumbed  to  the  ordeal. 

GIGANTIC    DISINFECTION. 

"  Hundreds  of  women  and  children  who  are  trying  to  get  away 
from  the  city  to  the  mainland  find  the  task  difficult.  The  slowness 
of  the  distracted  ones  is  not  due  to  tardiness  or  hesitation  on  their 
part.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  scramble  to  get  away,  and  the  shat- 
tered wharves  are  lined  with  persons  awaiting  their  turn.  Trans- 
portation facilities  are  very  meagre.  There  are  few  boats  to  be 
had.  The  Lawrence,  a  200-ton  propeller,  is  the  only  steamer  car- 
rying persons  across  to  Texas  City. 

"  One  of  the  most  hopeful  features  of  the  situation  is  the  arrival 
of  hundreds  of  barrels  of  disinfectants,  such  as  carbolic  acid  and 
chloride  of  lime.  Two  thousand  barrels  of  these  could  be  advant- 
ageously used.  The  Board  of  Health  shows  signs  of  vigor  and  of 
an  appreciation  of  the  danger  that  confronts  the  city  and  contigu- 
ous territory.  Every  effort  is  being  made  to  deodorize  the  ruins 
and  to  quickly  dispose  of  the  dead  as  soon  as  they  are  reached. 

"  The  work  of  cleaning  and  disinfecting  the  streets  is  carried 
on  with  vigor,  and  the  results  are  quite  noticeable,  especially-  in 
the  central  part  of  the  city.  Gutters  in  Tremont  street  were 
opened  and  the  slush  and  debris  from  them  carted  to  the  city  dump. 
This  allowed  the  water  to  drain  off.  Centre  street  and  the  vSuand 
were  also  worked  on   with   excellent   results,   the    gutters    beiug 


280  RELIEF  WORK  FOR  THE  SICK  AND   DYING. 

Opened  and  disinfectants  generally  distributed.  Several  other  streets 
in  the  central  part  of  the  city  were  pnt  in  a  sanitary  condition. 

"  The  depot  for  sanitary  supplies  established  by  the  Board  of 

Health  issued  yesterday  fifty-four  sacks  and  eighty-four  barrels  of 

lime,  twenty-five  sacks  of  charcoal,  twenty  boxes  of  powdered  dis- 

•  infectants,  ten  cans  of  oil  and  three  barrels  of  carbolic  acid.     All 

of  this  was  distributed  over  the  city  for  disinfection. 

''  Out  in  the  suburbs  large  forces  were  at  work  cleaning  the 
streets  and  opening  the  gutters.  The  result  of  their  work  is  very 
noticeable  to  one  who  went  out  in  the  evening  after  having  gone  over 
the  same  ground  the  day  before.  The  work  of  clearing  the  streets 
of  broken  telephone  and  telegraph  poles  and  wires,  as  well  as  poles 
and  wires  of  other  kinds,  has  been  begun  in  earnest.  The  great 
broken  poles  with  their  loads  of  wires  are  lowered  to  the  ground 
and  the  wires  removed  as  rapidl}^  as  possible. 

THE    SHERIFF'S    \VORK. 

"  Sheriff  Thomas  reports  that  he  and  his  posses  buried  and 
cremated  thirty-eight  bodies  in    Kurd's  lane,  twenty-one  bodies  at 

Sydnor's  Bayou,  and  thirteen  bodies  in  Eagle  Grove.  Sheriff 
Thomas  says  there  are  still  one  hundred  bodies  to  be  buried  just 
outSfcide  the  city  limits,  and  he  has  no  idea  of  how  many  more  down 
the  island. 

"  Fully  $1,500,000  worth  of  vessel  property  is  tied  up  on 
the  lowlands.  There  was  more  than  this  until  the  British 
steamer  Mora  was  floated  on  Wednesday.  There  are  seven  ocean 
going  steamers  grounded  in  different  parts  of  the  bay,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  some  of  them  ever  getting  from  their  positions  is  quite 
remote. 

"  The  steamer  Roma  is  probably  in  the  tightest  place.  She 
broke  from  her  moorings  at  pier  No.  15  during  the  storm  and  went 
westward  to  the  county  bridge,  tearing  her  way  through  the  other 
bridges  until  she  went  aground  on  or  near  Deer  Island.  It  is 
feared  her  days  of  usefulness  are  over,  for  it  would  take  as  much 
as  she  is  worth  to  dredge  a  channel  from  her  position  to  water  deep 
enough  to  float  her. 


RICLIEF   WORK   FOR   THH   SICK   AND   DYING.  281 

"  Anollier  possible  total  loss  is  the  steamer  Kendal  Castle, 
which  is  in  shallow  water  near  Texas  City,  having  gone  there  dur- 
ing the  storm  from  pier  No.  31.  She  lies  partly  broadside  on. 
Like  the  Roma,  she  is  far  from  deep  water,  and  until  the  Texas 
City  channel  is  completed  it  does  not  seem  probable  that  she  can 
get  out. 

"  The  quarantine  barge,  belonging  to  the  State,  is  probably 
gone  beyond  redemption.  She  dragged  her  anchor  from  the  moor- 
ing place  to  Pelican  Island,  where  she  went  aground  and  fell  over 
on  her  side  with  the  receding  waters.  Her  machinery  is  propably 
badly  wrecked,  and  she  is  in  such  a  position  that  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  right  her,  although  the  effort  may  be  made. 

"  Small  craft  in  the  bay  suffered  as  much  in  proportion  to  value 
as  the  big  vessels,  if  not  more,  for  practically  every  one  was 
swamped.  Some  of  them  struck  the  piers  and  had  holes  stove  in 
their  bottoms.  Owners  have  been  repairing  them,  and  for  that 
reason  few,  if  any,  will  be  entirel}^  lost." 

GALVESTON   IN    DANGER    FROM    FIRE. 

"  A  danger  which  Galveston  faces  is  fire.  Not  a  drop  of  rain 
has  fallen  since  the  hurricane,  and  the  hot  winds  and  blistering  suns 
have  made  the  wrecked  houses  and  buildings  so  much  tinder,  piled 
mountain  high  in  every  direction.  In  nearly  all  parts  of  the  city 
the  fire  hydrants  are  buried  fifty  feet,  in  some  places  a  hundred  feet 
deep  under  the  wreckage,  and  as  3^et  the  water  supply  at  best  is 
only  of  the  most  meagre  kind. 

"  Galveston's  fire  department  is  small  and  badly  crippled  and 
would  be  powerless  to  stay  the  flames  should  they  ever  start. 
There  is  no  relief  nearer  than  Houston,  and  that  is  hours  away. 
In  view  of  all  the  existing  conditions  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  cry 
is,  'Get  the  women  and  children  to  the  mainland,  anywhere  off  the 
island,'  nor  is  it  a  wonder  that  with  one  small  boat  carrying  only 
300  passengers,  and  making  only  two  trips  a  day,  people  fairly 
fight  to  be  taken  aboard. 

"  i\ll  yesterday  fears  were  entertained  by  the  authorities  that 
even  this  service  would  be  cut  off  and  Galveston  left  wtthout  an}' 


282  RELIEF   WORK   FOR   THE  SICK   AND   DYING. 

means  of  getting  to  the  mainland,  owing  to  the  tronble  with  the 
owner  of  the  boat. 

"The  sanitary  conditions  do  not  improve.  Dr.  Trueheart, 
chairman  of  the  committee  in  charge  of  caring  for  the  sick  and 
injured,  is  going  on  with  dispatch.  More  physicians  are  needed, 
and  he  requests  that  about  thirty  outside  physicians  come  to  Gal- 
veston and  work  for  at  least  a  month,  and,  if  needed,  longer.  The 
city's  electric  light  service  is  completely  destroyed,  and  the  city 
electrician  says  it  may  be  sixty  days  before  the  business  portion 
can  be  lighted. 

"  A  glorions  and  modern  Galveston  to  be  rebuilt  in  place  of 
the  old  one,  is  the  cry  raised  by  the  citizens,  but  it  would  seem  a 
task  beyond  human  power  to  ever  remove  the  wreckage  of  the  old 

citv. 

"  The  total  number  of  people  fed  in  the  ten  wards  Saturday, 
the  15th,  was  16,144.  Sunday  the  number  increased  slightl3^ 
No  accurate  statemen  .  of  the  amount  of  supplies  can  be  obtained 
as  they  are  being  put  in  the  general  stock  as  soon  as  received." 

"SEEMS    LIKE    AN    AWFUL    DREAM." 

Destitute  save  for  a  few  personal  effects  carried  in  a  small 
valise,  and  with  nerves  shattered  by  a  week  of  horror,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  C.  A.  Prutsman,  with  their  two  daughters,  twelve  and  six 
years  old,  reached  Chicago  from  the  flood-swept  district  of  Texas. 
They  came  direct  from  Galveston,  via.  Houston  and  St.  Louis.. 

During  all  of  one  afternoon  the  little  family  sat  at  the  Rock 
Island  station  waiting  for  a  train  to  take  them  to  Putnam,  111., 
where  Mrs.  Prutsman  has  relatives.  When  it  was  learned  that 
they  were  from  Galveston,  they  were  besieged  with  questions  con- 
cerning the  details  of  the  terrible  storm.  Crowds  of  waiting  pas- 
sengers flocked  about  them,  and  they  told  the  gruesome  story 
over  and  over, 

"  Yes,  wc  were  fortunate,"  said  Mrs.  Prutsman,  as  she  leaned 
wearily  back  in  a  rocking  chair,  and  tenderly  contemplated  the  two 
children  at  her  side.  "  It  seems  to  me  just  like  an  awful  dream, 
and  when  I  think  of  the  hundreds  and  huudreds  of  children  who 


REUEF   WORK   FOR  THE   SICK  AND   DYING. 


283 


were  killed  riglit  before  our  very  eyes,  I  feel  as  tliougli  I  always 
ought  to  be  satisfied  no  matter  what  conies." 

Mr.  Prutsman  said  :  "  The  reports  from  Galveston  are  not  half 
as  appalling  as  the  situation  really  ife.  We  left  the  fated  city  Wed- 
nesday afternoon,  going  by  boat  to  Texas  City,  and  by  rail  to 
Houston.  The  condition  of  Galveston  at  that  time,  while  showing 
an  improvement,  was  awful,  and  never  shall  I  forget  the  terrible 
scenes  that  met  our  eyes  as  the  boat  on  which  we  left  steamed  out 
of  the  harbor.  There  were  bodies  on  all  sides  of  us.  In  some 
places  they  were  piled  six  and  seven  deep,  and  the  stench  horrible. 

"  I  resided  with  my  family  fourteen  blocks  away  from  the  beach, 
yet  my  house  was  swept  away  at  5  p.m.  Saturday,  and  with  it  went 
everything  we  had  in  the  world.  Fifteen  minutes  before  I  took  my 
wife  and  children  to  the  courthouse  and  we  were  saved,  along  with 
about  1,000  others  who  sought  refuge  there.  When  we  went 
through  the  streets  the  water  was  up  to  our  arms  and  we  carried 
the  children  on  our  heads. 

WOMAN    SHOT   TO    END    HER    SUFFERING. 

"  I  assisted  for  several  days  in  the  work  of  rescue.  In  one 
pile  of  debris  we  found  a  woman  who  seemed  to  have  escaped  the 
flood,  but  who  was  injured  and  pinned  down  so  she  could  not  es- 
cape. A  guard  came  along,  and,  after  failing  to  rescue  her,  delib- 
erately shot  her  to  end  her  misery. 

"  The  streets  present  a  gruesome  appearance.  Every  available 
wagon  and  vehicle  in  the  city  is  being  used  to  transport  the  dead, 
and  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  load  of  bodies  ten  deep.  The 
stench  in  the  city  is  nauseating.  Since  the  flood  the  only  water 
that  could  be  used  for  drinking  purposes  was  in  cisterns,  and  it  has 
become  tainte'd  with  the  slime  and  filth  that  covers  the  city  until  it 
is  little  better  than  no  water  at  all. 

"  Since  the  city  was  placed  under  martial  law  conditions  have 
been  much  better  and  there  is  little  lawlessness.  The  soldiers  have 
shown  no  quarter  and  have  orders  to  shoot  on  sight.  This  has  had 
a  wonderful  effect  on  the  disreputable  characters  who  have  flocked 
into  the  city. 


--^i  RELIEF  WORK   FOR  THE  SICK  AND  DYING. 

SAW    FOUR    MEN    SHOT    IN    ONE    DAY. 

"  Everybod}'  who  remains  in  Galveston  is  made  to  work,  and 
the  punishment  for  a  refusal  is  about  the  same  as  that  meted  out  to 
ghouls.  I  saw  four  colored  men  shot  in  one  day.  There  were  con- 
Imed  in  the  hold  of  a  steamer  in  the  harbor,  six  colored  men  who 
wti'Q  found  by  the  soldiers  with  a  flour  sack  almost  filled  with  fing- 
ers and  ears  on  which  were  jewels.  These  men  probably  have  been 
publicly  executed  before  this  time. 

"  In  the  work  of  rescue  we  found  whole  families  tied  together 
with  ropes,  and  in  several  instances  mothers  had  their  babes  clasped 
in  their  arms. 

"  vScores  of  unfortunates  straggle  into  Houston  every  day  and 
their  condition  is  pitiable.  Several  have  lost  their  reason.  The 
citizens  of  Houston  are  doing  all  in  their  power  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  sufferers,  and  every  available  building  in  the  city  has  been 
converted  into  a  hospital.  When  we  arrived  in  Houston  we  scarcely 
had  clothes  enough  to  cover  us,  and  the  citizens  fitted  us  out  and 
started  us  north.  The  fear  of  fever  or  some  awful  plague  drove  us 
from  Galveston. 

"  Already  speculators  are  flocking  into  the  city,  and  there  is 
some  activity  among  them  over  tax-title  real  estate.  In  several 
instances  whole  families  were  wiped  out  of  existence,  and  the  op- 
portunities in  this  line  seem  to  be  great." 

General  Chambers  McKibbin,  U.  S.  A.,  and  Adjutant  General 
Scurry  were  both  emphatic  regarding  the  necessity  for  prompt 
work  in  clearing  the  streets  and  surroundings  of  Galveston. 

"  I  am  personally  in  favor  of  burning  as  much  rubbish  as  pos- 
sible," said  General  McKibben,  "  and  of  burning  it  as  quickly  as 
the  power  of  man  will  permit.  I  am  not  an  alarmist  by  any  means, 
and  I  do  not  predict  a  pestilence,  but  I  think  things  are  coming  to 
that  point  where  a  pestilence  may  be  possible  unless  prompt  meas- 
ures are  taken,  and  there  is  nothing  so  effective  as  fire.  Burn 
everything  and  burn  it  at  once." 

"  I  haven't  a  dollar  to  pay  the  men  who  are  working  in  the 
streets  all  day  long,"  said  Adjutant  General  Scurry.  "I  am  un- 
able to  say  to   a  single  one  of  tJie  men  '  You'll   be  paid  for  your 


RELIEF  WORK  EOR  THE  SICK  AND  DYING.  2s5 

work.'  I  have  not  the  money  to  make  good  the  promise.  I  hope 
and  believe  that  the  conntry  will  understand  the  situation.  We 
must  have  this  city  cleaned  up  at  any  cost  and  with  the  greatest 
speed  possible.  If  it  is  not  done  with  all  haste,  and  at  the  same 
time  done  well,  there  may  be  a  pestilence,  and  if  it  once  breaks  out 
here  it  will  not  be  Galveston  alone  that  will  suffer. 

"  Such  things  spread,  and  it  is  not  only  for  the  sake  of  this 
city,  but  for  others  outside  that  I  urge  that  above  all  things  we  want 
money.  The  nation  has  been  most  kind  in  its  response  to  the  ap- 
peals of  Galveston,  but  from  what  I  hear,  food  and  disinfectants 
sufficient  for  temporary  purposes  at  least,  are  here  or  on  the  way. 
The  country  does  not  understand.  It  cannot  understand,  unless  it 
could  visit  Galveston,  the  awful  situation  prevailing  here." 

NO    DANGER   OF   PESTILENCE. 

Dr.  A.  B.  Chamberlain  said  that  Galveston  would  now  escape 
epidemic  in  any  form.  He  had  been  through  two  of  these  Gulf 
coast  visitations,  though  upon  a  smaller  scale.  "  We  may  have 
some  mild  cases  of  fever  as  the  result  of  the  shock  and  the  ex- 
posure," lie  said,  "but  I  am  confident  there  will  be  nothing 
serious." 

This  seems  to  be  quite  generally  the  opinion  of  the  doctors 
wno  are  not  advising  any  wholesale  exodus.  They  put  great  faith 
iu  the  free  use  of  disinfectants  and  in  the  bracing  salt  air  which 
blows  continuously  over  the  island. 

"  A  barrel  of  lime  is  worth  more  to  us  now  than  a  ton  of  food," 
was  the  expression  of  Dr.  J.  O.  Dyer.  "  Let  us  appeal,"  he  con- 
tinued, "for  10,000  barrels  of  lime  and  500  barrels  of  tar.  Each 
block  will  require  at  the  least  ten  barrels  scattered  on  its  respective 
lots  and  streets,  burn  the  tar  in  offensive  localities." 

Ladies  of  Galveston  are  engaged  in  a  work  which  is  perhapsj 
without  precedent  in  relief  effort.  They  are  making  man}'-  little 
bags,  into  which  they  place  two  or  three  lumps  of  camphor.  The 
bags  have  strings  by  which  they  can  be  fastened  at  the  head,  so 
that  they  will  rest  on  the  lip  just  under  the  nose.  They  are  to  be 
Worn  by  the  men  engaged  in  the  search  and  cremation  of  bodies. 


286  RFXIKF  WORK    FOR   THE   SICK   AND   DYING. 

It  is  proposed  to  all  people  whose  houses  are  still  standing 
that  whenever  they  locate  a  corpse  or  carcasses  in  their  vicinity 
the  position  be  indicated  by  a  flag  of  some  kind. 

Some  of  the  notices  and  paragraphs  in  these  first  issues  of  the 
Galveston  papers  are  as  interesting  as  stories  of  the  storm.  For 
example : — 

"  The  First  Church  of  Christ,  Scientists,  cordially  extends  the 
use  of  their  church  to  any  denomination  whose  church  was  so 
damaged  b}^  the  recent  storm  as  to  render  it  unfit  for  services." 

DOCTORS  CARING  FOR  THE  SUFFERERS. 

In  the  advertising  columns  merchants  seem  to  vie  with  each 
other  in  announcing,  ''  Positively  no  advance  in  prices."  Here  is 
an  editorial  leader  which  could  hardl}^  be  found  outside  of  a  hurri- 
•cane  issue: — 

"It  is  important  that  all  who  are  injured  enough  to  necessi- 
tate a  stitching  of  their  wounds  should  have  their  dressings  changed 
every  twenty-four  hours.  Some  of  the  wounded  have  neglected  to 
do  this,  with  a  result  that  the  doctors  have  more  work  to  do  than 
is  necessary.  Every  doctor  in  town  is  doing  work  free  of  cost  to 
all  who  apply." 

There  have  been  accounts  of  negroes  caught  in  the  act  of  rob- 
bing the  dead  and  shot.  Galveston  citizens  are  prompt  to  say  that 
there  have  been  exceptional  cases.  They  gave  the  mass  of  colored 
people  credit  for  doing  their  part. 

On  September  14th  a  writer  described  as  follows  events  in  the 
stricken  city  :  "  The  evacuation  of  Galveston  has  begun.  Do  what 
they  will,  the  newspapers  and  authorities  cannot  convince  thou- 
sands who  have  made  up  their  minds  that  this  island  is  doomed  to 
remain  a  moment  after  their  first  chance  of  escape. 

"  Schooners  by  the  dozen  are  leaving  for  Texas  and  their  crews 
have  to  stand  guard  to  keep  the  people  from  overcrowding  and 
sinking  the  craft.  People  are  leaving  with  no  destination,  but  with 
a  strong  determination  to  get  many  miles  from  this  panorama  of 
wrecked  business  houses,  blockaded  streets,  hospitals  filled  with 
wounded  and  dying  victims  of  the  awful  disaster. 


REUEF  WORK  FOR  THK   SICK  AND   DYING.  287 

"  Galvestou  may  again  become  the  prosperous  port  it  was  five 
days  ago,  but  its  principal  population  will  be  of  people  who  have 
not  seen  the  awful  work  of  wind  ana  water.  Men  who  have  large 
business  interests  here  may  remain,  but  their  families  will  be  on 
the  mainland,  and  every  sign  of  approaching  storm  will  drive  thou- 
sands away.  A  workingman  who  paid  $3,900  for  a  cottage  and 
lot  offered  to  sell  for  $500  yesterda}^,  throwing  in  all  the  house 
contained.  The  house  is  very  little  damaged,  but  he  lost  a  wife  and 
baby  whom  he  had  taken  to  what  he  thought  was  a  place  of  safety. 
It  is  impossible  to  write  anj'thing  that  would  convey  a  faint  idea 
of  the  wreckage  and  ruin. 

FIRES    ALL   OVER   THE    CITY. 

"The  number  of  dead  under  debris  in  the  central  parts  of  the 
city  will  never  be  known,  as  burning  is  going  on  all  over  the  cil}-. 
The  east  end,  beginning  at  Fifteenth  street  and  Avenue  L,  running 
on  a  line  parallel  with  the  island,  has  a  great  mass  of  wreckage 
piled  as  high  as  a  man's  head  and  from  that  to  the  top  of  houses 
three  stories  high. 

"  This  line  extends  as  far  along  as  there  were  anj^  houses  to 
wreck,  and  consists  of  all  manner  of  buildings.  It  is  a  desolate 
scene  from  Eighth  street  east,  when  one  compares  it  with  the  life 
that  was  present  there  but  a  short  time  ago.  Two  buildings  of  all 
the  colony  at  the  Point  are  left  standing.  These  are  the  houses  of 
the  quarantine  officer  and  the  lighthouse.  The  quarautine  ware- 
house is  gone.  All  the  barrack  buildings  and  the  dirt  mounds 
that  surrounded  them  are  gone,  and  iu  place  of  all  is  a  water}' 
waste,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  little  islands  that  appear  above 
the  water. 

"  The  water  has  cut  into  the  lands  from  the  jetties,  coverine 
all  the  ground  practically  from  Seventh  street  east.  For  a  block 
or  more  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  hospitals  there  is  a  prairie 
waste,  and  then  begins  the  mass  of  debris.  One  man  had  several 
houses  out  there  and  now  he  can  find  his  fine  porcelain  tubs  in  the 
debris,  while  all  about  him  are  the  things  that  composed  his  home 
and  the  houses  he  owned. 


i^88  REIJKF   WORK   FOR  THE   SICK   AND   t)YlNG. 

"  Lucas  Terrace,  a  large  three-story  brick  building,  di\idec1 
iuto  flats  of  tbiee  and  four  rooms  each  is  almost  a  total  wreck.  Out 
of  thirty-seven  persons  reported  to  have  been  in  the  building  when 
the  storm  started  its  work  of  destruction,  the  Terrace  had  fifteen 
killed.  Business  concerns  of  the  larger  order  in  the  East  end  suf- 
fered with  the  corner  groceries  and  the  smaller  merchants. 

WELL-KNOWN    BUILDINGS    DAMAGED. 

"  Boysen's  mill  is  considerably  damaged,  the  smokestack,, 
some  of  the  windows  and  part  of  the  roof  being  gone.  Across  the 
street  the  bonemeal  mill  stands,  with  scarcel}^  any  north  wall  what- 
ever. The  Neptune  Ice  Company,  Eighteenth  street  and  Avenue 
A,  is  almost  a  total  wreck.  A  part  of  the  building  is  gone  into  a 
mass  of  debris  while  other  parts  remain  standing.  The  oil  mill  at 
Eighteenth  street  and  Strand,  suffered  little  apparent  damage  ex- 
cept to  the  windows.  A  big  blacksmith  shop  in  Eighteenth  street, 
between  Strand  and  Mechanic,  suffered  the  loss  of  the  upper  storj^ 
entirely.  These  are  but  a  few  specimens  of  what  has  happened  all 
over  the  city." 

W.  S.  Abernethy,  with  the  Chicago  relief  forces,  wrote  on  the 
15th  :  "  Yesterday  was  a  day  of  anguish,  as  all  the  days  of  this 
week  have  been. 

"  There  was  no  cessation  of  tear-stained  faces  apjDearing  here 
and  there  to  tell  of  the  lost.  And  it  is  a  wonder  if  the  end  of  this 
sad  divulgence  will  ever  come.  A  motherless  boy  or  a  fatherless 
girl,  newly  childless  mother  or  father,  or  whatever  it  may  be,  the}^ 
still  come  to  tell  of  their  woe  ;  and  the  stolid  men  who  glide  o\'er 
the  water  or  who  search  the  shore  still  bring  in  the  swollen  and 
unrecognizable  victims  of  the  storm.  It  will  end  some  day,  and 
agonizing  hearts  may  rest  from  the  painful  th robbings  of  this  hour. 

"  It  is  likely  that  Dr.  Grant  will  increase  his  force  to  fift}' 
deputy  marshals  at  once.  He  cancelled  his  political  apjDointments 
in  Ohio  to  render  this  service  to  Galveston.  Speaking  of  the  dis- 
aster he  said: 

"  It  is  the  tragedy  of  the  century,  and  is  impossible  of  descrip- 
tion.    I  have  never  seen  anything  like  it  before,  and  I  hope  I  never 


RELIEF  WORK  FOR  THE  SICK  AND   DYING.  289 

shall  again.  As  sorrowful  as  it  is,  however,  I  do  not  believe  tlie 
people  of  Galveston  will  give  way  to  despair.  There  is  still  a  great 
future  for  this  city,  and  those  who  survive  must  wisely  realize  the 
present  and  build  to  the  future. 

"  Such  destruction  is  impossible  of  repetition,  and  all  Texas 
will  regret  if  Galveston  halts  and  refuses  to  improve  the  possibili- 
ties within  her  grasp.  The  horrible  past — and  thank  God  it  is 
past — with  its  innumerable  heartaches,  is  too  awful  to  discuss." 

MAYOR    SETS    ALL   AT    WORK. 

"  Mayor  Walter  C.  Jones  has  issued  a  proclamation  revoking^ 
all  passes  heretofore  issued,  and  placing  Brigadier  General  Thomas 
Scurry  in  command  of  all  forces.  General  Scurry  has  appointed 
Hunt  McCaleb  his  adjutant,  and  only  passes  signed  by  him  will  be 
recognized.  All  able  men  without  the  passes  will  be  put  at  work 
clearing  the  wreckage  and  burning  and  burying  the  dead. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  relief  committee  yesterday  it  was  decided 
not  to  pay  for  labor,  but  time  checks  will  be  issued  and  paid  later. 
Only  those  sick  and  those  working  will  receive  assistance  from  the 
relief  committee." 

HUGE   TANK   MOVED    SIX    BLOCKS. 

To  those  acquainted  with  the  wharf  front  a  peculiar  thing  is 
presented  near  the  foot  of  Twenty-first  street.  The  big  steel  tank 
of  the  Waters-Pierce  Oil  Company,  in  which  was  stored  during  the 
season  cotton  seed  oil,  at  the  foot  of  Fifteenth  street,  was  blown  to 
Twenty-first  street,  a  distance  of  six  blocks.  It  landed  on  its  bot- 
tom and  rests  now  in  an  upright  position.  It  is  a  large  tank  and 
heavy,  but  the  elements  got  the  better  of  it. 

This  morning  the  streets  are  pretty  well  crowded  with  busi- 
ness vehicles  ;  a  great  many  large  concerns  are  doing  business, 
and  there  is  a  general  appearance  of  activity  which  will  in  a  great 
measure  relieve  the  feeling  of  unrest  and  stem  the  tide  of  people 
trying  to  get  away  from  Galveston. 

The  prospect  for  rail  communication  is  improving,  but  no  day 
can  be  set  when  trains  can  be  run  to  the  island.     Large  forces  are 

19 


290  RELIEF  WORK  FOR  THE  SICK  AND  DYING. 

at  work  on  botli  ends  of  one  of  tlie  four  bridges  across  tlie  bay,  but 
as  the  bridge  is  two  and  one-half  miles  long  and  the  piling  in  bad 
shape,  it  is  impossible  to  say  when  the  work  will  be  completed.  It 
may  be  in  three  or  four  days,  or  may  be  longer,  although  railroad 
officials  hope  for  the  best — that  is,  the  lowest  estimates  of  time. 

FEAR   TO    LOOK   ON    THE    SEA. 

"  It  matters  not  how  great  the  number  of  the  dead,  there  are 
enough  to  shock  the  sympathies  of  the  world,  and  they  are  gone 
forever.  But  we  fear  here  to  look  upon  the  sea,  lest  some  heartless 
wave  shall  bring  to  view  the  cold,  stark  form  of  another  whom 
somebody  lived  with  and  loved. 

"  The  victims  are  still  growing  into  larger  thousands,  and  the 
bereft  are  still  coming  in  to  tell  of  losses.  It  is  a  continued  story 
of  anguish  and  death  such  as  Texas  has  never  known  before  and 
prays  it  shall  never  know  again. 

EVERY    \A/'AVE    HAS    ITS    TRAGEDY. 

"  It  is  said  that  every  wave  of  the  sea  has  its  tragedy,  and  it 
seems  to  be  true  here.  In  Galveston  it  has  ceased  to  be  an  anxiety 
for  the  dead,  but  concern  for  the  living.  The  supreme  disaster, 
with  its  overwhelming  tale  of  death  and  destruction,  has  now  abated 
to  lively  anxiety  for  the  salvation  of  the  living. 

"  Men  are  at  work  clearing  the  streets  of  piles  of  timbers  and 
refuse.  Men  are  beginning  to  realize  that  the  living  must  be  cared 
for.  It  is  now  the  supreme  duty.  There  is  much  work  to  be  done 
and  it  is  being  done.  Women  and  children  are  being  hurried  out 
of  the  city  just  as  rapidly  as  the  limited  facilities  of  transportation 
will  permit.  The  authorities  and  commissioners  are  rational,  and 
idleness  is  no  longer  permitted. 

"  There  is  an  element  with  an  abundance  of  vital  energy  who 
intend  to  save  the  town,  and  the  town  is  being  saved.  Bur3^ing  the 
dead,  feeding  the  destitute,  cleaning  the  city  and  repairing  \yrecks 
of  all  character  are  under  fair  headway,  and  will  be  pushed  as  rap- 
idly as  men  can  be  found  to  do  the  Avork. 

"  The  great  utilities  of  the  city  are  being  repaired  to  a  state  of 


RELIEF  WORK  FOR  THE  SICK  AND   DYING.  291 

usefulness.  Men  are  in  demand  and  workers  are  coming  to  engage 
in  the  duty  of  restoration.  Life  is  beginning  to  supersede  deatii, 
and  there  is  apparent  everywhere  a  desire  to  save  the  city  and 
rebuild  it. 

"  Before  another  week  has  passed,  the  listlessness  of  mourning 
people  will  have  been  changed  into  a  lively  interest  in  life,  and  as 
this  comes  so,  Galveston  will  begin  to  realize  just  what  the  world 
expects  of  her.  General  Scurry  now  has  charge  of  the  town,  and 
it  is  really  under  martial  law. 

"  Of  course  there  is  some  friction.  Martial  friction,  like  the 
martial  law,  is  a  matter  only  temporary,  It  would  be  difficult  to 
challenge  the  necessity  of  this  measure.  There  are  many  defense 
less  women  and  children  in  the  city,  living  in  houses  without  locks 
and  keys,  and  they  must  be  protected  against  prowlers  of  all  kinds. 
How  long  such  protection  will  be  necessary  cannot  be  known  now, 
but  General  Scurry  can  be  depended  upon  to  discharge  the  im- 
portant obligations  which  he  has  assumed. 

"  There  are  political  factions  here  who  resent  the  idea  of  mar- 
tial law,  but  this  fact  does  not,  for  a  moment,  abate  the  necessity 
for  it.  United  States  Marshal  John  Grant  has  arrived  with  twelve 
deputy  marshals.  He  tendered  his  services  to  General  Scurry  and 
they  were  accepted. 

WALKING   OVER    CORPSES. 

"  One  hundred  people  at  present  are  at  Virginia  Point,  some 
waiting  for  transportation  over  to  Galveston,  some  for  day  to  break 
so  as  to  permit  of  the  burial  of  corpses,  of  which  there  are  many 
scattered  up  and  down  the  beach  and  all  over  the  prairie  for  a  radius 
of  ten  miles.  Others  are  waiting  for  a  first  chance  to  get  as  far 
away  as  possible  from  this  terrible  scene.  Men  who  will  work  are 
very  scarce.  Those  willing  have  a  desire  to  boss,  which  does  not 
facilitate  matters  in  the  least.  An  organized  force  of  considerable 
proportion  should  be  sent  here  at  once. 

"  An  eight-mile  walk  from  where  the  passengers  were  put  off 
the  train  last  night  to  this  place,  over  the  corpses  of  human  beings 
and  animals,  piles  of  lumber,  household  articles   of  every  descrip- 


292  RELIEF  WORK   FOR  THE  SICK  AND   DYING. 

tion  and  furniture  was  an  experience  so  horrible  tliat  a  small  prO' 
portion  of  those  who  started  are  here  this  morning. 

"  A  caboose  and  engine  are  standing  just  above  this  place.  In 
it  are  four  train  men  all  crippled  and  sick,  onlj^  one  of  them  being 
able  to  get  about.  With  them  are  a  father  and  son,  the  remainder 
of  a  part}^  of  eight  who  tried  to  cross  the  bay  Saturday.  A  half 
mile  farther  down,  or  a  hundred  yards  from  the  bay,  is  another  en- 
gine and  caboose,  in  it  a  family  of  six,  four  of  them  small  children, 
are  congregated.  They  lived  at  this  place  and  had  a  hard  fight 
for  their  lives.     They  are  caring  for  a   switchman,  who  will  live 

only  a  few  hours.     They  are  in  a  destitute  condition. 

J 
REFUGEES  CRAZED  BY  THEIR  SUFFERINGS. 

"  Refugees  from  Galveston  tell  awful  tales  of  suffering  and 
death,  and  in  every  case  that  came  to  my  notice  are  in  such  mental 
state  that  there  can  be  no  reliable  facts  obtained  from  them.  The 
only  newspaper  man  who  has  got  into  Galveston  came  out  last 
night  deathly  sick,  and  would  not  stop  when  hailed. 

"  Thieves  have  been  robbing  the  bodies  as  they  came  ashore. 
One  man  was  caught  last  night  and  will  be  taken  to  Galveston 
to-day.  When  searched,  a  baby's  finger  was  found  with  a  ring  on 
it.  He  afterwards  gave  the  hiding  place  of  articles  and  money  and 
much  jewelry  was  found.  A  cry  of  "lynch  him"  met  with  little 
favor ;  enough  death  is  here. 

"  Frantic  refugees  from  Galveston  gave  vent  to  all  sorts  of 
invectives  against  the  world  in  general  and  Houston  (fifty  miles 
north)  in  particular,  for  what  they  believe  to  be  dilatoriness  in 
relief  work.  It  does  not  seem  that  more  could  have  been  done  in 
one  day.     Almost  nothing  has  been  done. 

"  Some  in  their  frenzy  blaspheme  their  God  for  not  preventing 
snch  a  catastrophe.  Two  relief  boats  are  to  leave  shortly  but  only 
enough  men  to  man  them  will  be  allowed  to  accompany  them. 
There  is  no  shelter  here  except  the  two  cars  mentioned.  Box  cars 
were  strewn  along  the  west  side  of  the  railroad  grade  for  two  miles 
from  this  point." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Family  in  a  Tree-Top  All  Night — Rescue  of  the  Perishing — 

Railroad  Trains  Hurrying  Forward  with  Relief — 

Pathetic  Scenes  in   the   Desolate  City. 

A  FTER  suffering  untold  privations  for  over  a  week  on  Bolivar 
^*-  peninsula,  an  isolated  neck  of  land  extending  into  Galveston 
bay  a  few  miles  from  the  east  end  of  Galveston  island,  the  Rev. 
L.  P.  Davis,  wife  and  five  young  children  reached  Houston,  fam- 
ished, penniless  and  nearly  naked,  but  overcome  with  amazement 
and  joy  at  their  miraculous  delivery  from  what  seemed  to  them 
certain  death. 

Wind  and  water  wrecked  their  home,  annihilated  their  neigh- 
bors and  destroyed  every  particle  of  food  for  miles  around,  yet 
they  passed  through  the  terrible  days  and  nights  raising  their 
voices  above  the  shriek  of  the  wind  in  singing  hymns  and  in 
prayer.  And  through  it  all  not  one  member  of  the  family  was 
injured  to  the  extent  of  even  a  scratch. 

When  the  hurricane  struck  the  Rev.  Mr.  Davis^  home  at  Pat- 
ton  Beach  the  water  rose  so  fast  that  it  was  pouring  into  the  win- 
dows before  the  members  of  the  family  realized  their  danger. 
Rushing  out  Mr.  Davis  hitched  his  team  and  placing  his  wife  and 
children  into  a  wagon  started  for  a  place  of  safety.  Before  they 
had  left  his  yard  another  family  of  refugees  drove  up  to  ask  assist- 
ance, only  to  be  upset  by  the  waves  before  his  very  eyes.  With 
difficulty  the  party  was  saved  from  drowning,  and  when  safe  in 
the  Davis  wagon  were  half  floated,  half  drawn  by  the  team  to  a 
grove. 

With  clotheslines  Mr.  Davis  lashed  his  12  and  74  year  old 
boys  in  a  tree.  One  younger  child  he  secured  with  the  chain  of 
his  wagon,  and  lifting  his  wife  into  another  tree  he  climbed  beside 
lier. 

While  the  hurricane  raged  above  and  a  sea  of  water  dashed 

wildly  below,  Mrs.  Davis  clung  to  her  6-month-old  babe  with  one 

293 


294  RESCUE   OF  THE   PERISHING. 

arm,  -while  witli  tte  other  slie  held  fast  to  her  precarious  haven  of 
refuge.  The  minister  held  a  baby  of  i8  months  in  the  same  man- 
ner, and  while  the  little  one  cried  for  food  he  prayed.  In  other 
trees  the  family  he  had  rescued  from  drowning  found  a  precarious 
footing. 

When  the  night  had  passed  and  the  water  receded,  wreckage, 
dead  animals  and  the  corpses  of  parishioners  surrounded  the 
devoted  party.  There  was  nothing  to  eat,  and,  nearly  dead  with 
exhaustion,  the  preacher  and  his  little  flock  set  out  on  foot  to 
seek  assistance.  They  were  too  weak  to  continue  far,  and  sank 
down  on  the  plain,  while  Mr.  Davis  pushed  on  alone.  Five  miles 
away  a  farmhouse  was  found,  partially  intact,  and  securing  a 
team,  Davis  returned  for  his  half-dead  party. 

SUBSISTED    ON    RAW    MEAT. 

For  two  days  they  remained  at  the  home  of  the  hospitable 
farmer,  and  then  set  out  afoot  to  find  a  hamlet  or  make  their  way 
over  the  desert-like  peninsula  to  Bolivar  Point.  In  the  heat  of 
the  burning  sun  they  plodded  on  along  the  water  front,  subsisting 
upon  a  steer  which  they  killed  and  devoured  raw,  until  finally 
they  came  upon  an  abandoned  and  overturned  sailboat  high  on 
the  beach. 

With  a  united  effort  they  succeeded  in  launching  the  boat, 
and  with  improvised  distress  signals  displayed,  managed  to  sail 
to  Galveston.  There,  because  of  red  tape,  they  w^ere  unable  to 
secure  clothing,  although  they  were  given  a  little  food  and  trans- 
portation to  Houston.  Clad  in  an  old  pair  of  trousers,  a  tattered 
shirt  and  torn  shoes,  with  his  family  in  even  worse  plight,  the 
circuit  rider  of  the  Patton  Beach,  Johnston's  Bethel,  Bolivar 
Point  and  High  Island  Methodist  Churches  rode  into  Houston, 
dirty,  weak  and  half-starved.  Here  the  family  were  sent  to  a 
hospital  and  cared  for. 

Bolivar  reported  that  up  to  date  220  bodies  had  been  found 
and  buried,  and  many  were  still  lying  on  the  sands.  Assistance 
was  needed  at  once.  It  is  a  fact  generally  commented  upon,  and 
merely  emphasized   by  the  clergyman's   experience,   that  while 


RESCUE   OF  THE   PERISHING.  295 

succor  is  being  ruslied  to  Galveston,  otlier  sufferers  are  neglected. 
The  relief  trains  en  route  from  Houston  to  Galveston  traverse  a 
storm -swept  section,  where  famishing  and  nearly  naked  survivors 
sit  on  the  wrecks  of  their  homes  and  hungrily  watch  tons  of  pro- 
visions whirling  past  them,  while  there  is  little  prospect  of  aid 
reaching  them. 

Winifred  Black,  a  lady  journalist,  furnishes  the  following' 
vivid  account  of  her  experiences  in  reaching  Galveston  :  "I  beg- 
ged, cajoled  and  cried  my  way  through  the  line  of  soldiers  with 
drawn  swords,  who  guard  the  wharf  at  Texas  City,  and  sailed 
across  the  bay  on  a  little  boat,  which  is  making  irregular  trips  to 
meet  the  relief  trains  from  Houston. 

"  The  engineer  who  brought  our  train  down   from  Houston 

spent  the  night  before  groping  around  in  the  wrecks  on  the  beach 

looking  for  his  wife  and  three  children.     He  found  them,  dug  a 

rude  grave   in    the    sand,    and  set  up  a  little  board  marked  with 

his  name. 

ALL    HAD    LOST    LOVED    ONES. 

''  The  man  in  front  of  me  on  the  car  had  floated  all  Monday 
night  with  his  wife  and  mother  on  a  part  of  the  roof  of  his  little 
home.  He  told  me  that  he  kissed  his  wife  good-bye  at  midnight 
and  told  her  that  he  could  not  hold  on  any  longer  ;  but  he  did  hold 
on,  dazed  and  half-conscious,  until  the  day  broke  and  showed  him 
that  he  was  alone  on  his  piece  of  drift-wood.  He  did  not  e'ven' 
know  when  the  woman  that  he  loved  had  died. 

"  Ever}'  man  on  the  train — there  were  no  women  there — had 
lost  some  one  that  he  loved  in  the  terrible  disaster,  and  was  going 
across  the  hsij  to  try  and  find  some  trace  of  his  family — all  except 
the  four  men  in  m}'  part3\  They  were  from  outside  cities — St. 
Louis,  New  Orleans  and  Kansas  Cit3^  The}'-  had  lost  a  large 
amount  of  property  and  were  coming  down  to  see  if  anything  could 
be  saved  from  the  wreck. 

''  They  had  been  sworn  in  as  deput}'  sheriffs  in  order  to  get 
into  Galveston.  The  city  is  under  martial  law,  and  no  human  being 
who  can't  account  for  himself  to  the  complete  satistaction  of  the 
oflicers  in  charge  can  hope  to  get  through.     We  sat  on  the  deck  of 


296  RESCUE   OF    THE   PERISHING. 

tlie  little  steamer.  The  four  men  from  outside  cities  and  I  listened 
to  the  little  boat's  wheel  plowing  its  way  through  the  calm  waters 
of  the  bay.  The  stars  shone  down  like  a  benediction,  but  along 
the  line  of  the  shore  there  arose  a  great  leaping  column  of  blood- 
red  flame. 

"AVhat  a  terrible  fire."  I  said.  "Some  of  the  large  buildings 
must  be  burning." 

A  man  passing  on  the  deck  behind  my  chair  heard  me.  He 
stopped,  put  his  hand  on  the  bulwark  and  turned  down  and  looked 
into  my  face,  his  face  like  that  of  a  dead  man  ;  but  he  laughed. 

"  Buildings  !"  he  said.  "Don't  you  know  what  is  burning 
over  there  ?  It  is  my  wife  and  children — such  little  children  ! 
Why,  the  tallest  was  not  as  high  as  this" — he  laid  his  hand  on  the 
bulwark — "  and  the  little  one  was  just  learning  to  talk.  She  called 
my  name  the  other  day,  and  now  they  are  burning  over  there — ■ 
they  and  the  mother  who  bore  them.  She  was  such  a  little, 
tender,  delicate  thing,  always  so  easily  frightened,  and  now  she's 
out  there  all  alone  with  the  two  babies  and  they're  burning  !  " 

The  man  laughed  again  and  began  again  to  walk  up  and 
down  the  deck. 

HAD  TO  BURN   BODIES  OF  THOUSANDS. 

"That's  right,"  said  the  Marshal  of  the  State  of  Texas, 
taking  off  his  broad  hat  and  letting  the  starlight  shine  on  his 
strong  face.  "  That's  right.  We  had  to  do  it.  We've  burned 
over  i,ooo  people  to-day,  and  to-morrow  we  shall  burn  as  many 
more.  Yesterday  we  stopped  burying  the  bodies  at  sea  ;  we  had 
,to  give  the  men  on  the  barges  whisky  to  give  them  courage  to  do 
the  work.  They  carried  out  hundreds  of  the  dead  at  one  time, 
men  and  women,  negroes  and  white  people,  all  piled  up  as  high 
as  the  barge  could  stand  it,  and  the  men  did  not  go  far  enough  out 
to  sea,  and  the  bodies  have  begun  drifting  back  again." 

"  Look  !  "  said  the  man  who  was  walking  the  deck,  touching 
my  shoulder  with  his  shaking  hand.      "  Look  there  !  " 

"  Before  I  had  time  to  think  I  had  to  look,  and  saw  floating  in 
the  water  the  body  of  an   old  woman,   whose  hair  was  shining  in 


RESCUE    OF  THE   PERISHING.  297 

the  starlight.  A  little  farther  on  we  saw  a  group  of  strange  drift- 
wood. We  looked  closer  and  found  it  to  be  a  mass  of  wooden 
slabs,  with  names  and  dates  cut  upon  them,  and  floating  on  top  of 
them  \yere  marble  stones,  two  of  them. 

DEAD  ^A^ASHED   FROM   THEIR  GRAVES. 

"  The  graveyard,  which  has  held  tts  sleeping  citizens  of  Gal- 
veston for  many,  mary  years,  was  giving  up  its  dead.  We  pulled 
up  at  a  little  wharf  in  the  hush  of  the  starlight  ;  there  were  no 
lights  anywhere  in  the  city  except  a  few  scattered  lamps  shining 
from  a  few  desolate,  half-destroyed  houses.  We  picked  our 
way  up  the  street.  The  ground  was  slimy  with  the  debris  of 
the  sea. 

"We  climbed  over  wreckage  and  picked  our  way  through  heaps 
of  rubbish.  The  terrible,  sickening  odor  almost  overcame  us, 
and  it  was  all  that  I  could  do  to  shut  my  teeth  and  get  through 
the  streets  somehow.  The  soldiers  were  camping  on  the  wharf 
front,  lying  stretched  out  on  the  wet  sand,  the  hideous,  hideous 
sand,  stained  and  streaked  in  the  starlight  with  dark  and  cruel 
blotches.  They  challenged  us,  but  the  marshal  took  us  through, 
under  his  protection.  At  every  street  corner  there  was  a  guard, 
and  every  guard  wore  a  six-shooter  strapped  around  his  waist. 

"We  got  to  the  hotel  after  some  terrible  nightmare  fashion, 
plodding  through  dim  streets  like  a  line  of  forlorn  ghosts  in  a 
half-forgotten  dream.  General  McKibben,  commander  in  charo-e 
of  the  Texas  Division,  was  in  the  hotel  parlor  reading  dispatches. 
He  was  horrified  to  see  me. 

"  How  in  the  world  did  you  get  here  ?"  he  said.  "I  would 
hot  let  any  woman  belonging  to  me  come  into  this  place  of  horror 
for  all  the  money  in  America. 

OLD  SOLDIER  SHUDDERED  AT, THE  SIGHTS. 

"lam  an  old  soldier,  madame.  I  have  seen  many  battle- 
fields, but  let  me  tell  you  that  since  I  rode  across  the  bay  the  other 
night  and  helped  the  man  at  the  boat  steer  to  keep  away  from  the 
floating  bodies  of  dead  women  and  little  children  I  have  not  slept 


-298  RESCUE   OF  THE   PERISHING. 

one  single  instant.     Five  thousand  would  never  cover  tlie  number 
of  people  wlio  died  here  in  that  terrible  storm. 

"In  the  short  time  I  have  been  here  I  have  met  and  talked 
with  women  who  saw  every  one  they  loved  on  earth  swept  away 
from  them  out  in  the  storm.  As  I  look  out  of  my  window  I  can 
see  the  blood-red  flame  leaping  with  fantastic  gesture  against  the 
sk}'.  There  is  no  wire  into  Galveston,  and  I  will  have  to  send  this 
message  out  by  the  first  boat. 

"  For  the  present  the  two  things  needed  are  money  and  disin- 
fectants. More  nurses  and  doctors  are  needed.  Galveston  wants 
help — quick,  ready,  willing  help.  Don't  waste  a  minute  to  send 
it.  If  it  does  not  come  soon  this  whole  region  will  be  a  prey  to  a 
plague  such  as  has  never  been  known  in  America.  Quick-lime 
and  disinfectants,  and  money  and  clothes — all  these  things  Gal- 
veston must  have,  and  have  at  once,  or  the  people  of  this  country 
wall  have  a  terrible  crime  on  their  conscience. 

MAKING    A    FIGHT    FOR    LIFE. 

"The  people  of  Galveston  are  making  a  brave  and  gallant 
fight  for  life.  The  citizens  have  organized  under  efficient  and 
willing  management.  Gangs  of  men  are  at  work  everywhere 
removing  the  wreckage.  The  cit}^  is  districted  according  to  wards, 
and  in  every  ward  there  is  a  relief  station.  They  give  out  food 
at  the  relief  stations.     Such  food  as  they  have  will  not  last  long. 

"  I  sat  in  one  relief  station  for  anhour  this  morning  and  saw 
several  people  who  had  come  asking  for  medicine  and  disinfect- 
ants and  a  few  rags  of  clothing  to  cover  their  pitiful  nakedness, 
turned  away.  The  man  in  charge  of  the  bureau  took  the  last 
nickel  in  the  world  out  of  his  pocket  and  gave  it  to  make  up  a., 
sum  for  a  woman  with  a  new-born  baby  in  her  arms  to  buy  a  little 
garment  to  cover  its  shivering  flesh. 

"The  people  of  the  State  of  Texas  have  risen  to  the  occasion 
nobl}^  They  have  done  everything  that  human  beings,  stagger- 
ing and  dazed  under  such  a  blow,  could  possibl}^  do,  but  they  are 
only  human.  This  is  no  ordinary  catastrophe.  One  who  has  not 
been  here  to  see  with  his  own  eyes  the  awful  havoc  wrought  by 


RESCUE  OF  THE  PERISHING.  299 

the  storm  cannot  realize  tiie  tenth  part  of  the  misery  these  people 
are  suffering. 

''I  asked  a  prominent  member  of  the  Citizens'  Committee  this 
morning  where  I  should  go  to  see  the  worst  work  which  the  storm 
had  done.  He  smiled  at  me  a  little,  pitifully.  His  house,  every 
dollar  he  had  in  the  world,  and  his  children  were  swept  awa}^  from 
him  last  Saturday  night. 

'"  Go  ?  '  said  he.  '  Why,  anywhere  within  two  blocks  of  the 
very  heart  of  the  city  you  will  see  misery  enough  in  half  an  hour 
to  keep  you  awake  for  a  week  of  sleepless  nights.' 

*'  I  went  toward  the  heart  of  the  city.  I  do  not  know  what  the 
names  of  the  streets  were  or  where  I  was  going.  I  simply  picked 
my  way  through  masses  of  slime  and  rubbish,  which  scar  the 
beautiful  wide  streets  of  the  once  beautiful  city.  They  won't  bear 
looking  at,  those  piles  of  rubbish.  There  are  things  there  that 
gripe  the  heart  to  see — a  baby's  shoe,  for  instance,  a  little  red 
shoe,  with  a  jaunty  tasseled  lace — a  bit  of  a  woman's  dress  and 
letters.  Oh,  yes,  I  saw  these  things  myself,  and  the  letters  were 
wet  and  grimed  with  the  marks  of  the  cruel  sea,  but  there  were  a 
few  lines  legible  in  it. 

"  'Oh,  my  dear,'  it  read,  'the  time  seems  so  long.  When  can 
we  expect  you  back?'  Whose  hand  had  written,  or  who  had 
received,  no  one  will  ever  know. 

THE    STENCH    IS    OVERPOWERING. 

"The  stench  from  these  piles  of  rubbish  is  almost  over-power- 
ing. .  Down  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city  most  of  the  dead  bodies 
have  been  removed,  but  it  will  not  do  to  walk  far  out.  To-day  I 
came  upon  a  group  of  people  in  a  by-street,  a  man  and  two 
women,  colored.  The  man  was  big  and  muscular,  one  of  the 
women  was  old  and  one  was  young.  They  were  dipping  in  a  heap 
of  rubbish,  and  when  they  heard  my  footsteps  the  man  turned  an 
evil  glowering  face  upon  me  and  the  young  woman  hid  some- 
thing in  the  folds  of  her  dress.  Human  ghouls,  these,  prowling 
in  search  of  prey. 

"A  moment  later  there  was  noise  and  excitement  in  the  little 


300  RESCUE  OF  THE  PERISHING. 

narrow  street,  and  I  looked  back  and  saw  the  negro  running,  with 
a  crowd  at  his  keels.  The  crowd  caught  him  and  would  have 
killed  him  but  a  policeman  came  up.  They  tied  his  hands  and 
took  him  through  the  streets  with  a  whooping  rabble  at  his  heels. 
It  goes  hard  with  a  man  in  Galveston  caught  looting  the  dead  in 
these  days. 

"A  young  man  well  known  in  the  city  shot  and  killed  a  negro 
who  was  cutting  the  ears  from  a  living  woman's  head  to  get  her 
earrings  out.  The  negro  lay  in  the  streets  like  a  dead  dog,  and 
not  even  the  members  of  his  own  race  would  give  him  the  tribute  of 
a  kindly  look. 

DESOLATION    ON    EVERY    SIDE. 

''The  abomination  of  desolation  reigns  on  every  side.  The  big 
houses  are  dismantled,  their  roofs  gone,  windows  broken,  and  the 
high  water  mark  showing  inconceivably  high  on  the  paint.  The 
little  houses  are  gone — either  completely  gone  as  if  they  were 
made  of  cards  and  a  giant  hand  which  was  tired  of  playing  with 
them  had  swept  them  all  off  the  board  and  put  them  away,  or  they 
are  lying  in  heaps  of  kindling  wood  covering  no  one  knows  what 
horrors  beneath. 

"The  main  streets  of  the  city  are  pitiful.  Here  and  there  a 
shop  of  some  sort  is  left  standing.  South  Fifth  street  looks  like 
an  old  man's  jaw,  with  one  or  two  teeth  protruding.  The  mer- 
chants are  taking  their  little  stores  of  goods  that  have  been  left 
them  and  are  spreading  them  out  in  the  bright  sunshine,  trying 
to  make  some  husbanding  of  their  small  capital.  The  water 
rushed  through  the  stores,  as  it  did  through  the  houses,  in  an 
irresistible  avalanche  that  carried  all  before  it.  The  wonder  is 
not  that  so  little  of  Galveston  remains  standing,  but  that  there  is 
any  of  it  at  all. 

"Every  street  corner  has  its  story,  in  its  history  of  misery  and 
human  agony  bravely  endured.  The  eye-witnesses  of  a  hundred 
deaths  have  talked  to  me  and  told  me  their  heart  rending  stories, 
and  not  one  of  them  has  told  of  a  cowardly  death. 

"  The  women  met  their  fate  as  did  the  men,  bravely,  and  for 


RESCUE  OF   THE    PERISHING.  301 

the  most  part  with,  astonishing  calmness.  A  woman  told  me  that 
she  and  her  husband  went  into  the  kitchen  and  climbed  upon  the 
kitchen  table  to  get  away  from  the  waves,  and  that  she  knelt 
there  and  prayed. 

"As  she  prayed,  the  storm  came  in  and  carried  the  whole 
house  away,  and  her  husband  with  it,  and  yesterday  she  went  out 
to  the  place  where  her  husband  had  been,  and  there  was  nothing 
there  but  a  little  hole  in  the  ground. 

'^  Her  husband's  body  was  found  twisted  in  the  branches  of  a 
tree,  half  a  mile  from  the  place  where  she  last  saw  him.  She 
recognized  him  by  a  locket  he  had  around  his  neck — the  locket 
she  gave  him  before  they  were  married.  It  had  her  picture  and 
a  lock  of  the  baby's  hair  in  it.  The  woman  told  me  all  this 
without  a  tear  or  trace  of  emotion.     No  one  cries  here. 

"They  will  stand  and  tell  the  most  hideous  stories,  stories 
that  would  turn  the  blood  in  the  veins  of  a  human  machine  cold 
with  horror,  without  the  quiver  of  an  eye  lid.  A  man  sat  in  the 
telegraph  office  and  told  me  how  he  had  lost  two  Jersey  cows  and 
5ome  chickens. 

"THEY    WERE    ALL    DROWNED." 

"  He  went  into  minute  particulars,  told  howhis  house  was  built 
and  what  it  cost,  and  how  it  was  strengthened  and  made  firm 
against  the  weather.  He  told  me  how  the  storm  had  come  and 
swept  it  all  away,  and  how  he  had  climbed  over  a  mass  of  wab- 
bling roofs  and  found  a  friend  lying  in  the  curve  of  a  big  roof,  in 
the  stoutest  part  of  the  tide,  and  how  they  two  had  grasped  each 
other  and  what  they  said. 

"He  told  me  just  how  much  his  cows  cost,  and  why  he  was  so 
fond  of  them,  and  hov/  hard  he  had  tried  to  save  them,  but  I  said . 
"You  have  saved  yourself  and  your  famil}^  ;  you  ought  not  to 
complain." 

"  The  man  stared  at  me  with  blank,  unseeing  eyes.  "  Why,  I 
did  not  save  my  family."  He  said.  "They  were  all  drow^ned.  I 
thought  you  knew  that  ;  I  don't  talk  very  much  about  it." 

"The  hideous  horror  of  the  whole  thing  has  benumbed  every 


802  RESCUE   OF   THE   PERISHING. 

one  wlio  saw  it.  No  one  tells  the  same  stor}^  of  tlie  way  the  storm 
rose,  or  how  it  went.  No  two  men  tell  the  story  of  rescue  quite 
alike.  I  have  just  heard  of  a  little  bo}^  who  was  picked  up  float- 
ing on  a  plank.  His  mother  and  father  and  brothers  and  sisters 
were  all  lost  in  the  storm.  He  tells  a  dozen  different  stories  of 
his  rescue  on  the  night  of  tr.e  storm, 

"  But  the  city  is  gradually  getting  back  to  a  normal  under- 
standing of  the  situation,  just  as  one  comes  out  of  a  long  fainting 
fit,  and  says  :  '  Where  am  I  ?" 

"  The  Mayor  is  doing  everything  in  his  power  to  straighten 
matters  out.  Martial  law  is  strictly  enforced.  The  Chief  of 
Police  is  busy,  very  bus}^  I  caught  him  in  the  hotel  rotunda 
this  morning.  There  were  five  or  six  men  around  him,  all  trying 
to  get  permits.     He  would  not  listen  to  one  of  them. 

TOO    BUSY    TO    TALK. 

"  He  transfixed  me  with  a  stony  stare  when  I  asked  him  for 
some  information.  He  did  not  have  time  to  bother  with  me.  He 
was  too  busy  feeding  the  hungry  and  comforting  the  destitute 
and  taking  care  of  thieves  to  care  whether  the  outside  world  knew 
anything  about  him  or  his  opinions  or  not. 

"  The  little  parks  are  full  of  homeless  people.  The  prairies 
around  Galveston  are  dotted  with  little  camp  fires,  where  the 
homeless  and  destitute  are  tr3ang  to  gather  their  scattered  fami- 
lies together,  aud  find  out  who  among  them  are  dead  and  who  are 
living. 

"There  are  thousands  aud  thousands  of  families  in  Galveston 
to-day  without  food  or  a  place  to  la^^'  their  heads. 

"  But  oh,  in  pity's  name,  in  America's  name,  do  not  dela}^  help 
one  single  instant !     Send  help  quickl}-,  or  it  will  be  too  late. 

"  One  week  has  passed  since  the  awful  calamity  which  laid 
low  beautiful  Galveston  and  the  story  has  not  j^et  been  half  told. 
The  people  against  whom  the  appalling  catastrophe  was  visited 
are  just  beginning  to  awake  from  the  horrible  nightmare  which 
had  its  inception  in  the  roaring  torrents  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

With  the  awakening  comes  memory — remembrance  of  awful 


U' 


RESCUE  OF  THE  PERISHING.  303 

scenes  following  the  storm  which  up  to  now  have  been  untold. 
Accounts  of  personal  experiences  are  just  becoming  available,  and 
the  narration  of  the  different  stories  is  like  a  long,  hideous 
dream. 

"  Quartered  in  the  Chicago  hospital  in  the  Auditorium  Theatre 
are  persons  whose  minds  were  a  blank  all  the  week  until  the  min- 
istering of  the  'Chicago  American's'  nurses  and  physicians 
restored,  at  least  partly,  the  shattered  nerves  and  senses.  During 
this  morning's  early  hours  these  unfortunates  related  their  awful 
experiences. 

"The  story  of  Thomas  Klee  was  possibly  the  most  pitiful. 
Klee  lived  near  Eleventh  and  N  streets.  When  the  storm  burst 
he  was  alone  in  his  house  with  his  two  infant  children.  He 
seized  one  under  each  arm  and  rushed  from  the  frail  structure  in 
time  to  cheat  death  among  the  falling  timbers  of  his  home. 

LODGED    HIS    CHILD    IN    A    TREE. 

''  Once  in  the  open,  with  his  babies  under  his  arms,  he  was 
swept  into  the  bay  among  hundreds  of  others.  He  held  to  his 
precious  burden  and  by  skillful  manoeuvring  managed  to  get 
close  to  a  tree  which  was  sweeping  along  with  the  tide.  He  saw 
a  haven  in  the  branches  of  the  tree  and  raised  his  two-year-old 
daughter  to  place  her  in  the  branches.  As  he  did  so  the  little 
one  was  torn  from  his  arm  and  carried  away  to  her  death. 

"The  awful  blow  stunned,  but  did  not  render  senseless.  Klee 
retained  his  hold  on  the  other  child,  aged  four  years,  and  was 
whirled  along  among  the  dying  and  dead  victims  of  the  storm's 
fury,  hoping  to  effect  a  landing  somewhere.  An  hour  in  the 
water  brought  the  desired  end.  He  was  thrown  ashore,  wdth 
wreckage  and  corpses,  and,  stumbling  to  a  footing,  lifted  his  son 
to  a  level  with  his  face.     The  boy  was  dead. 

"Klee  remembered  nothing  until  last  night,  when  he  was  put 
ashore  in  Texas  City.  He  had  a  slight  recollection  of  helping  to 
bury  dead,  clear  away  debris  and  obey  the  command  of  soldiers. 
His  brain,  however,  did  not  execute  its  functions  imtil  early 
to-day  in  the  hospital. 


304  RESCUE   OF   THE    PERISHING. 

"George  Boyer's  experience  was  a  sad  one.  He  was  tlirowu 
into  the  rushing  waters,  and  while  being  carried  with  frightful 
velocity  down  the  bay  saw  the  dead  face  of  his  wife  in  the  branches 
of  a  tree.  The  woman  had  been  wedged  firmly  between  two 
branches. 

"  Margaret  Lees'  life  was  saved  at  the  expense  of  her  brother's.. 
The  woman  was  in  her  Twelfth  street  home  when  the  hurricane 
struck.  Her  brother  seized  her  and  guided  her  to  St.  Mary's 
University,  a  short  distance  away.  He  returned  to  search  for  his 
son,  and  was  killed  by  a  falling  house. 

Galveston,  Tex.,  Sept.  15. — The  sound  of  the  hammer  is 
beginning  to  be  heard  throughout  the  city.  Every  man  not 
engaged  in  looking  for  and  cremating  the  dead  is  repairing  the 
damage  wrought  by  Saturday's  great  tidal  wave. 

The  spirit  that  has  been  displayed  by  the  citizens  remaining 
here  is  remarkable.  They  seem  determined  to  begin  immediately 
the  work  of  rebuilding  the  stricken  city,  and  to  that  end  are 
endeavoring  to  secure  building  material  as  speedily  as  possible. 
Business  houses  are  being  restored  and  restaurant  keepers  are 
conducting  business  on  the  sidewalks. 

MIRACULOUS   ESCAPE    FROM    DEATH. 

Some  gf  the  escapes  of  people  of  Galveston  from  the  storm 
were  nothing  less  than  miraculous.  Charles  Rutter,  aged  twelve, 
was  in  his  father's  house  when  the  waves  and  wind  swept  it  away. 
The  boy  seized  a  floating  trunk  and  was  found  at  Hitchcock, 
twenty  miles  north. 

The  Stubbs  family,  consisting  of  father,  mother  and  two 
children,  was  in  its  home  when  it  collapsed.  They  found  refuge 
on  a  floating  roof.  This  parted,  and  father  and  one  child  were, 
swept  in  one  direction,  while  the  mother  and  the  other  child  drifted 
in  another.  One  of  the  children  was  washed  off,  but  last  Sunday 
evening  all  four  were  re-united. 

Mrs.  P.  Watkins  is  a  raving  maniac  as  the  result  of  her 
experiences.  With  her  two  children  and  her  mother  she  was 
drifting  on  a  roof,    when  her  mother  and  one   child  were  swept 


RESCUE  OF  THE   PERISHING.  305 

away.     Mrs.  Watklns  mistakes  attendants  in  the  hospital  for  her 
lost  relatives,  and  clutches  wildly  for  them. 

Harry  Steele,  a  cotton  man,  and  his  wife  sought  safety  in 
three  successive  houses  which  were  demolished.  They  event- 
ually climbed  on  a  floating  door  and  were  saved.  W.  R.  Jones, 
with  fifteen  other  men,  finding  the  building  they  were  in  about  to 
fall,  made  their  way  to  the  water  tower,  and,  clasping  hands, 
encircled  the  standpipe,  to  keep  from  being  washed  or  blown 
away. 

Mrs.  Chapman  Bailey,  wife  of  the  southern  manager  of  the 
Galveston  Wharf  Compau}^,  and  Miss  Blanche  Kennedy  floated 
in  the  waters,  ten  to  twenty  feet  deep,  all  night  and  day  by  catch- 
ing wreckage.  Finally  they  got  into  a  wooden  bath-tub  and 
were  driven  into  the  Gulf  over  night.  The  incoming  tide  drove 
them  back  to  Galveston,  and  they  were  rescued  the  next  day. 
They  were  fearfully  bruised.     All  their  relatives  were  drowned. 

A  Texas  journal  commented  as  follows  upon  the  great  dis- 
aster : 

"  Galveston  thanks  the  nation.  Her  citizens,  still  staggering 
under  the  blows  dealt  by  the  hurricane,  have  been  aroused  to  con- 
fidence again  and  inspired  for  the  work  of  restoring  their  home 
city,  by  the  magnificent  expression  of  sympathy  and  kindliness 
which  their  fellow  countrymen  have  made  by  means  of  their  great 

relief  fund. 

NE\V  LIFE  IN  THE  CITY. 

"  For  two  days  after  the  hurricane  the  people  of  Galveston 
heard- practically  nothing  from  the  outside  world.  Then  meager 
news  came.  To-day  for  the  first  time  the  story  of  the  response  of 
the  American  people  to  the  stricken  city's  involuntary  appeal  for 
relief  has  been  brought  in. 

"  The  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  in  cash  given  for  the 
use  of  the  city,  the  many  relief  trains,  laden  with  supplies  of  food, 
so  much  needed,  and  of  medical  and  surgical  appliances,  still 
more  needed,  the  oncoming  bands  of  doctors  and  nurses  and 
guards,  mean  new  life  to  this  city. 

"  Despair  is  gone.     To-day  the  spirit  of  the  citizens  may  well 

20 


306  '  RESCUE  OF   THE   PERISHING. 

be  expressed  in  the  fine  words  wliicli  one  of  them  quoted  to-day. 
They  are  taken  from  the  doorwa}^  of  a  church  in  Tyrol,  where  the 
half-obliterated  letters  represent  the  wisdom  of  centuries,  and  the 
thoughts  of  Galveston  men  of  to-day. 

"  Look  not  mournfully  into  the  past. 
It  comes  not  back  again.     Wisely 
Improve  the  present.      It  is  thine. 
Go  forth  to  meet  the  shadowy  future 
Without  fear  and  with  a  manly  heart. 

"  The  contributions  and  gifts  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  are  the  subject  of  conversation  wherever  men  meet  on  the 
streets.  That  a  city,  which  had  met  with  disaster  only  five  days 
ago,  could  now  be  the  recipient  of  a  fund  which  is  already  approx- 
imating half  a  million  dollars,  seems  well-nigh  incredible. 

"  Galveston  has  been  better  treated  than  was  Chicago  after 
its  great  fire,  or  than  were  the  sufferers  in  western  Pennsylvania 
after  the  Johnstown  flood.  The  spirit  is  the  same,  but  has  grown 
great  with  good  times  and  swift  with  good  hearts. 

SWIFT    TRAINS    LOADED    WITH    SUPPLIES. 

"The  bulletins  which  come  through  Governor  Sayres  at  Dal> 
las,  who  is  earning  the  gratitude  of  Galveston  people  by  his  good 
work  for  them,  tell  of  swift  trains  coming  from  the  Atlantic  and 
the  Pacific  laden  with  supplies.  They  tell  of  gifts  of  mau}^ 
thousands  of  dollars  from  great  corporations  and  rich  men  of  the 
country,  and  as  well  of  gifts  from  the  poorer  classes  in  cities  and 
villages  in  all  parts  of  the  Union.  How  Governor  Roosevelt 
stopped  on  his  speaking  tour  long  enough  to  wire  an  appeal  to 
the  citizens  of  his  State  for  relief  funds,  how  other  governors  have 
,  issued  appeals,  and  how  Americans  even  as  far  away  as  Paris 
,'have  spontaneously  met  and  contributed  large  sums,  have  all  been 
heard  here. 

''It  is  a  \vonderful  thing,"  said  Mayor  Jones,  "and  one 
which  speaks  for  the  high  character  of  our  American  citizens, 
that  so  much  should  be  done  for  this  city  soquickl}'.     I  have  just 


RESCUE  OF  THE   PERISHING.  307 

heard  from  Governor  Sayres  tliat  all  sorts  of  people  are  contribut- 
ing. His  message  said  that  many  of  the  churches  of  the  land 
would  take  special  contributions  for  our  benefit. 

"I  cannot  say  how  grateful  I  and  all  the  people  of  Galveston 
are  for  this  splendid  treatment.  We  will  show  our  thankfulness 
by  going  ahead  with  our  own  work,  and  making  a  new  Galveston 
on  the  spot  where  the  old  one  was  so  nearly  annihilated." 

The  mayor's  confidence  in  the  future  of  Galveston  is  shared 
by  the  greater  part  of  the  business  mexi.  Two  days  ago  all  M^ere 
downcast,  pessimistic  and  despondent.  Many  even  talked  of 
abandoning  Galveston  entirely  and  helping  to  build  a  new  city 
on  some  other  location.  Already  the  mournful  past  has  begun  to 
be  cast  behind.  The  conditions  of  the  present  are  being  studied, 
and  the  very  best  that  is  possible  will  be  made  out  of  the  future. 

"GALVESTON    SHALL    RISE    AGAIN." 

Two  daily  papers  have  already  resumed  their  issues,  and 
their  appearance  helped  to  restore  confidence.  Both  of  them  had 
stirring  editorials,  and  that  of  one  had  for  its  keynote,  "  Galves- 
ton Shall  Rise  Again."  There  was  not  a  half  hearted  word  in 
the  editorial.  It  urged  that  people  bury  their  dead,  succor  their 
living,  and  then  start  resolutely  to  work  to  mend  the  broken 
things  and  to  build  the  city  anew. 

Galveston  will  not  be  abandoned  for  a  location  on  hiofheT 
ground  somewhere  else.  It  has  too  fine  a  climate,  it  is  too  well 
known  as  a  summer  resort,  and  it  has  too  great  advantages  in  it.s 
bathing  beaches  to  make  abandonment  a  possible  thing,  even 
should  business  seek  to  move  away. 

But  business  will  not  go  away.  If  the  railroads  replace  theii 
-fridges,  terminals  and  wharves,  that  means  that  they  have  con. 
fidence  in  the  future  of  the  city,  and  adds  to  the  confidence  of  the 
citizens.  It  is  perfectly  clear  already  that  the  railroads  entering 
Galveston  are  quickly  going  to  do  their  share  in  the  work  of 
reconstruction. 

The  Southern  Pacific  railroad  has  had  men  investigating  its 
wharves  and  tracks,  and  it  has  announced  through  General  Man- 


308  RESCUE   OF  THE   PERISHING. 

ager  Van  Vleck  tliat,  althougli  tlie  damage  to  its  property  in  this 
city  is  fully  80  per  cent,  it  will  proceed  to  restore  it  as  rapidly  as 
possible.  Mr.  Van  Vleck  says  that  men  and  mortar  are  already 
being  carried  to  Virginia  Point  for  work  on  the  bridge,  and  that 
inside  of  forty  days  he  expects  to  be  running  trains  into  Galveston 
again.  He  will  not  work  in  connection  with  any  other  road,  nor 
build  a  joint  bridge  to  the  city,  but  he  says  his  company  will 
permit  other  roads  to  use  the  bridge  when  it  is  ready. 

The  scenes  on  the  streets  when  provisions  are  being  distrib- 
uted are  pathetic  in  the  extreme.  Many  families,  among  whose 
members  hunger  was  possibly  never  felt  before,  are  being  supplied 
with  provisions.  Wizened-faced,  bare-footed  children  were  to  be 
seen  on  the  street  eagerly  appropriating  spoiled  and  cast-off  stocks 

of  food. 

SYSTEMATIC    RELIEF. 

The  committee  is  trying  to  systematize  the  work,  so  as  to 
relieve  the  worst  cases  first.     Mayor  Jones  said  : 

"We  have  made  such  arrangements  as  will  make  it  possible 
for  us  to  feed  the  needy  until  we  can  get  in  full  supplies.  We  are 
relieving  every  case  presented  to  us.  I  think  within  a  day  or  two 
our  transportation  facilities  will  be  sufficient  temporarily  to  meet 
our  needs.  Galveston  has  helped  other  cities  in  their  distress, 
despite  her  size,  and  we  are  consoled  by  the  generous  response  of 
the  country  to  our  appeal.  " 

The  committee  has  instructed  the  local  drug  stores  to  provide 
the  poor  and  needy  with  medicine  at  the  expense  of  the  relief  fund. 

Every  strong-limbed  man  who  has  not  his  own  home  and 
property  to  look  after  is  being  pressed  into  the  service  of  the  city. 
First  of  all,  it  is  necessary  to  get  the  waterworks  in  good  condi- 
tion, so  that  water  may  be  turned  into  the  mains,  the  gutters 
flushed,  and  the  sewers  made  usable.  The  lack  of  water  since  the 
flood  has  contributed  much  to  the  discomfort  and  the  danger  to 
health. 

Volunteer  gangs  continue  their  work  of  hurried  burial  of  the 
corpses  they  find  on  the  shores  of  Galveston  Island  at  the  neigh- 
boring points  where  fatalities  attended  the   storm.     It  will  prob- 


RESCUE  OF  THE   PERISHING.  309 

ably  be  many  days,  however,  before  all  the  floating  bodies  have 
found  nameless  graves.  Along  the  beach  they  are  constantly 
being  washed  up.  Whether  these  are  those  who  were  swept  out 
into  the  Gulf  and  drowned  or  are  simply  the  return  ashore  of  some 
of  those  cast  into  the  sea  to  guard  against  terrible  pestilence,  there 
is  no  means  of  knowino;-. 

In  various  parts  of  the  city  the  smell  of  decomposed  flesh  is 
still  apparent.  Wherever  such  instances  are  found  the  authorities 
are  freely  disinfecting.  Only  to-day  a  babe  lashed  to  a  mattress 
was  picked  up  under  a  residence  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city  and 
burned. 

The  following  editorial,  signed  by  the  publishers,  A.  H. 
Belo  &  Co.,  appeared  September  13th  in  the  "Galveston  News"  : 

HOMES    MUST    BE    REPAIRED. 

"At  the  first  meeting  of  Galveston's  citizens,  Sunday  after- 
noon, after  the  great  hurricane,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  order 
out  of  chaos,  the  only  sentiment  expressed  was  that  Galveston 
had  received  an  awful  blow.  The  loss  of  life  and  property  is 
appalling — so  great  that  it  required  several  days  to  form  anything 
like  a  correct  estimate.  With  sad  and  aching  hearts,  but  with 
resolute  faces,  the  sentiment  of  the  meeting  was  that  out  of  the 
awful  chaos  of  wrecked  homes  and  wretched  business  Galveston 
must  rise  again. 

"The  sentiment  was  not  that  of  burying  the  dead  and  giving 
up  the  ship,  but  rather  bury  the  dead,  succor  the  needy,  appeal 
for  aid  from  a  charitable  world,  and  then  start  resolutely  to  work 
to  mend  the  broken  chains.  In  many  cases  the  work  of  upbuild- 
ing must  begin  over.  In  other  cases  the  destruction  is  only 
partial.  Still,  the  sentiment  was,  Galveston  will,  Galveston 
must,  survive  and  fulfill  her  glorious  destiny.  Galveston  shall 
rise  again. 

"  Galveston  having  been  isolated  since  the  storm  of  last  Sat- 
urday night,  the  stricken  citizens  of  the  town  have  not  been 
informed  as  to  the  thrill  of  horror  which  went  over  the  world  when 
the  news  of  the  catastrophe  was   spread.     The   Associated  Press 


310  RESCUE   OF   THE   PERISHING. 

brings  the  cheering  news  that  in  every  town  and  city  in  the  United 
States,  commercial,  religious  and  charitable  bodies  have  organized 
into  relief  committees.     At  present  thousands  of  dollars  and  hun- 
dreds of  cars  of  supplies  are  en  route  and  will  reach  the  sufferers 
of  Galveston  just  as  soon  as  it  is  possible  to  boat  them  across  the 
bay.     If  the  desolation  here    has   been  awful,  the  sympathy  and'y 
humanity  of  a  great  nation  has  been   ample,  and  very  soon  the 
local  committees  will  be  enabled  to  assist  the  destitute  thousands. 
"  What  the    '  News '    desires  most  to  say  to  the  surviving  vic- 
tims of  last  Saturday's  catastrophe,  is  that  in  the  knowledge  of  a 
w^orld-wide  sympathy  which  is  encompassing  us,  we  must  not  give 
way  to  despair.     If  we  have  lost  all  else,  we  still  have  life  and  the 
future,  and  it  is  toward  the  future  that  we  must   devote  the  ener- 
gies of  our  lives.     We  can  never  forget  what  we  have   suffered  ; 
we  can  not  forget  the  thousands  of  our  friends  and  loved  ones  who 
found  in  the  angry   billows    that  destroyed  them,  a  final  resting 
place.     But  tears  and  grief  must  not  make  us  forget  our  present 

duties. 

TIME  FOR  DAUNTLESS  COURAGE. 

"The  blight  and  ruin  which  have  desolated  Galveston  are 
not  beyond  repair.  We  must  not  for  a  moment  think  Galveston 
is  to  be  abandoned  because  of  one  disaster,  however  horrible  that 
disaster  has  been.  We  have  our  homes  here,  even  if  those  homes 
are  in  ruins,  and  if  we  loved  Galveston  before,  how  much  stronger 
must  that  affection  be  and  how  much  more  sacred  it  must  be  when 
we  think  of  our  loved  ones,  whose  dust  consecrates  not  only  the 
land  but  the  very  waves  which  lash  its  shores. 

"  It  is  time  for  courage  of  the  highest  order.  It  is  time  when 
men  and  women  show  the  stuff  that  is  in  them,  and  we  can  make 
no  loftier  acknowledgment  of  the  material  sympathy  which  the 
world  is  extending  to  us  than  to  answer  back  that  after  we  shall 
have  buried  our  dead,  relieved  the  sufferings  of  the  sick  and 
destitute,  we  will  bravely  undertake  the  vast  work  of  restoration' 
and  recuperation  which  lies  before  us,  in  a  manner  which  shall 
convince  the  world  that  we  have  spirit  to  overcome  misfortune  and 
rebuild  our  homes.   In  this  way  we  shall  prove  ourselves  worthy  of 


RESCUE   OF   THE    PERISHING.  311 

tlie  boundless  teuderness  which  is  being  showered  upon  us  in  the 
hour  of  desolation  and  sorrow." 

Refugees  from  Galveston,  Alvin,  Angellon  and  other  places 
are  fast  scattering  throughout  the  State.  Over  fifty  have  arrived 
at  Austin  and  have  found  temporary  homes  with  friends  and  rela- 
tives. Many  have  gone  to  places  in  other  States.  A  local  Relief 
Committee  has  been  organized  in  Austin  to  look  after  the  wants 
of  the  destitute  people  as  fast  as  they  arrive.  They  are  clothed 
and  fed  at  the  expense  of  the  local  people, 

Similar  committees  are  being  formed  in  all  the  principal  cities 
and  towns  of  the  State.  It  is  expected  that  this  action  will  assist 
the  Relief  Committees  of  Houston  and  Galveston  greatly  and  will 
also  reduce  the  amount  of  money  required  to  be  expended  out  of  the 
general  fund  that  is  accumulating  for  the  benefit  of  the  sufferers. 

Word  reached  here   from    Houston   that  evidences  had  been 

found  there  of  imposition  on   the   part  of  chronic  tramps  who  are 

pouring  into  the  city  from  all    directions  and  claiming  to  be  just 

from  Galveston  and  to  have  lost  everything  in  the  storm.     Many 

of  these  frauds  have  been  exposed  and  driven  out  of  the  city.     A 

plan  is  being  arranged  whereby  all  parties  seeking  help  must  be 

identified  as  having  come  from   Galveston   or  other  storm-swept 

towns. 

SERMONS    ON    GALVESTON. 

The  Galveston  catastrophe  furnished  the  theme  for  Rev.  Dr. 
Russell  H.  Conwell's  sermon  on  Sunday,  September  i6tb,  in  the 
Temple  of  Grace  Baptist  Church,  Philadelphia.  He  attributed 
the  disaster  to  the  working  of  God's  immutable  laws,  and  declared 
that  the  calamity  in  its  end  was  for  the  good  of  all  things.  At 
the  conclusion  of  his  sermon  he  made  an  appeal  for  the  aid  of  the 
sufferers.  There  was  a  generous  response.  Many  pledged  them- 
selvesves  for  specific  sums. 

Dr.  Conwell  took  his  text  from  Genesis  xiii,  36.  He  said  in 
part  :  "  It  was  Jacob  who  said  '  all  things  are  against  me,'  but 
Paul  said,  '  All  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God.'  Paul's  position  was  true.  Jacob's  was  untrue.  Yet  Jacob 
had  philosophy   in  his  expression  ;    but  his   philosophy  was  so 


312  RESCUE   OF   THE   PERISHING. 

much  inferior  tliat  Paul's  iuclosed  it,  left  it  out  of  siglit.  There 
is  no  sorrow  or  affliction  or  pain  or  death  but  it  worketh  out  in 
God's  hands  a  greater  good. 

"  The  disaster  at  Galveston  fills  me  with  terror.  It  was  a 
lovely  cit}^  ;  its  people  kind-hearted  and  enterprising.  The 
destruction  of  that  city  so  suddenly  was  God's  doing,  and  conse- 
quently it  must  be  for  good.  It  was  His  doing  and  what  He  does 
is  right.  The  hurricane  was  the  necessasy  outcome  of  all  the 
working  laws  of  God.  He  sent  it  and  it  must  be  for  good.  We 
can  not  understand  that  ;  we  sit  back  in  our  heart's  darkness  and 
say,  '  God  is  wrong  ;  He  is  not  governing  the  universe.' 

BLESSINGS  IN   DISGUISE. 

"  The  people  who  now  live  in  Galveston  will  be  better  all  their 
lives.  This  experience  has  deepened  their  natures,  enriched  their 
sympathies,  enlarged  the  boundaries  of  their  feelings,  and  the 
people  of  that  city  will  be  blessed  by  that  awful  experience.  They 
are  going  to  be  better  inspired,  more  loving  toward  others,  more 
affectionate  toward  each  other,  and  they  are  going  to  be  different 
men  even  without  their  riches,  for  riches  do  not  make  good  men. 
The  people  of  Galveston  have  been  taught  that  there  is  something 
more  than  dollars  in  this  world.  The  rich  will  now  feel  what  it 
is  to  be  poor.  It  does  man  good  to  feel  the  depths  of  life.  Many 
of  the  survivors  will  thank  God  they  have  to  begin  life  over 
again. 

"  This  great  calamity  is  good  also  in  that  it  arouses  the 
sympathies  of  the  whole  country.  When  it  arouses  the  sympa- 
thies of  many  tens  of  thousands  it  must  be  a  gigantic  force  to  work 
out  an  ultimate  good.  Just  think  when  they  begin  to  build  the 
city  again  !  How  many  will  be  benefited  ?  They  will  order 
lumber  from  the  North,  where  the  suffering  people  are  .waiting 
for  the  order.  They  will  order  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  goods 
/from  Philadelphia,  and  there  are  poor  people  here  waiting  for  that 
work.  When  you  consider  how  that  disaster  locally  is  going  to 
bless  so  many  people  outwardly,  then  the  measure  of  its  good  may 
be  far  greater  than  the  measure  of  its  evil." 


RESCUE   OF   THE   PERISHING.  313 

Rev.  Dr.  Colfelt,  pastor  of  Oxford  Presbyterian  Churcli, 
toucliing  on  the  Galveston  disaster  in  liis  sermon  on  "  Repent- 
ance," said  : — 

"The  changes  are  so  quick  and  excessive  in  our  mortal  life 
that  none  of  us  know  what  to-morrow  will  bring  forth.  Not  one 
of  us  knows  whether  our  money  will  be  a  blessing  or  a  curse, 
separating  us  from  our  good  work.  Christ  declares  that  disasters 
are  not  to  be  interpreted  as  judgments,  but  they  are  simply  per- 
sonal. The  object  in  every  instance  of  disaster  and  calamities  is 
to  bring  us  fast  to  repentance." 

The  ministers  in  nearly  all  of  the  churches  referred  to  the 
Galveston  calamity  in  their  sermons.  At  the  close  special  col- 
lections were  taken. 

MAKES    THE    WHOLE    WORLD    KIN. 

Galveston's  great  calamity  was  the  central  thought  in  many 
sermons  preached  in  Chicago,  and  in  a  majority  of  the  churches 
a  collection  was  taken  for  the  benefit  of  the  sufferers.  Some  of 
the  expressions  were  as  follows  : 

The  Rev.  William  A.  Burch  (South  Park  Avenue  Methodist 
Church) — "Such  catastrophes  reveal  the  worst  and  the  best. 
There  was  mutilation  of  the  sacred  dead.  But  so  on  ever}^  battle- 
field a  glittering  diamond  on  the  finger  or  in  the  ear  excites  the 
passions  of  men.  But  look  at  the  better  side.  A  cry  for  help 
went  up  and  the  nation  was  moved.  Responses  started  with  tens 
of  thousands  of  dollars,  and  will  run  into  hundreds  of  thousands. 
Human  sympathy  has  mightily  grown." 

The  Rev.  Charles  Reynolds  (North  Congregational  Churchy 
Fifty-ninth  and  La  Salle  streets) — "  We  have  heard  the  news  of 
the  terrible  calamity,  also  heard  of  the  depravity  of  the  human 
ghouls  who  pounced  upon  the  dead  for  robbery,  and  how  they 
were  shot  down  like  dogs.  The  whole  has  been  like  a  terrible 
nightmare.  Then  we  must  look  for  a  bright  side.  We  rejoice  at 
the  noble  gifts  made  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  especially 
Chicago.  The  lesson  of  the  terrible  catastrophe  is  that  we  at  all 
times  must  be  prepared  to  meet  our  God.     We   are  facing  death, 


314  RESCUE   OF   THE   PERISHING. 

whicli  may  come  at  aii}^  moment,  like  it  did  upon  tliose  poor  souls 
in  Galveston." 

Tlie  Rev.  Samuel  Fallows  (St.  Paul's  Reformed  Episcopal 
Cliurcli,  Adams  street  and  Winchester  avenue) — "From  breaking 
hearts  we  must  say,  '  Father  in  heaven,  all  is  well,  though  faith 
and  form  are  sundered  in  the  night  of  fear.  '  The  lesson  of  self- 
help  which  this  calamity  teaches  will  not  be  lost.  God  intended 
man  to  conquer  nature,  to  bind  its  forces,  to  ride  triumphantly  on 
its  seemingly  resistless  energies.  Galveston  must  not  be  blotted 
out.  It  must  rise  to  newness  of  life.  Like  our  own  Chicago,  it 
must  be  rebuilt  on  a  higher  level.  It  must  rear  its  structures  so 
that  the  angriest  weaves  shall  not  dash  them  to  pieces.  Another 
lesson    of  American   pluck    and    energy  will  thus  be  learned   by 

mankind.  " 

MISFORTUNES   MAKE  US  ONE. 

The  Rev.  Frank  DeWitt  Talmage  (Jefferson  Park  Presby- 
terian Church) — "  We  know  not  why  this  misfortune  happened. 
Only  eternity  can  solve  for  us  the  mystery,  but  we  can  learn  two 
or  three  lessons  that  may  be  of  help  to  us.  God  has  made  of  one 
blood  all  nations.  The  misfortunes  of  mankind  make  us  one, 
and  when  we  hear  the  call  we  can  hear  Christ  say,  '  Inasmuch  as 
ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  Me.'" 

The  Rev.  J.  Kittredge  Wheeler  (Fourth  Baptist  Church,  Ash- 
land Boulevard  and  Monroe  street) — "  The  Galveston  horror 
brings  more  prominently  into  notice  the  universal  brotherhood  of 
mankind,  and  shows  that  when  suffering  humanity  calls,  the 
response  is  liberal  and  widespread.  Such  a  disaster  puts  aside 
all  superficial  distinction,  and  man  comes  to  regard  man  as  a  fellow 
being  without  prejudice  as  to  color  or  social  position.  " 

The  Rev.  W.  H.  Carwardine  (Adams  Street  Methodist 
Church) — "It  was  builded  upon  the  sand,  and  its  destruction  is  a 
warning  to  those  builders  who  forget  the  foundation  in  the  beau- 
ties of  the  upper  structure.  The  highest  light  that  comes  to  the 
victims  of  the  most  appalling  disaster  of  the  centur}/  is  the  unfold- 
ing of  the  world's  friendship.  " 


RESCUE   OF   THE   PERISHING.  3I5 

Tlie  admirable  courage  and  determination  with  wliicli  the 
survivors  faced  the  terrible  situation  are  well  expressed  in  the 
following  editorial  of  a  leading  journal  : 

"While  the  catastrophe  at  Galveston  is  calling  forth  proofs 
of  sympathy  and  a  spirit  of  practical  helpfulness  on  every  hand, 
the  people  of  Galveston  themselves  are  giving  the  world  an  equallv 
notable  proof  of  courage  and  sturdy  resolution.  The  situation  as 
it  has  developed  from  day  to  day  has  afforded  a  striking  evidence 
of  their  ability  to  pull  themselves  together  and  prepare  to  face  the 
future.  The  conditions  which  they  had  to  confront  on  the  days 
immediately  following  the  catastrophe,  when  they  were  cut  off 
even  from  communication  of  the  outer  world  and  were  alone  in 
their  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  the  calamity,  must  have  been 
appaLing  beyond  conception. 

NO  WEAK  FIBRE  IN  GALVESTON  PEOPLE. 


<( 


Stunned  by  a  disaster  in  which  individual  griefs  werelost  in  a 
common  horror  and  the  presence  of  death  on  all  sides  made  the 
finding  of  the  dead  an  incident  of  commonplace,  they  could 
scarcely  have  been  expected  to  act  with  energy,  organization  or 
promptitude.  The  blow  sustained  by  the  city  must  have  seemed 
irreparable. 

"Irreparable  it  would  have  been  if  the  Galveston  men  and 
women  had  been  of  weaker  fiber.  It  stands  to  their  credit  that 
as  soon  as  the  clear  comprehension  of  their  misfortune  came  to 
thein  they  faced  it  resolutely,  and  pushing  aside  individual  griefs, 
set  themselves  to  protect  those  who  were  still  living.  They 
recognized  the  futility  of  lamentation,  and  the  necessity  of  fore- 
going the  rites  and  formalities  which  men  hold  to  be  sacred 
obligations  to  the  dead.  Now  that  the  worst  part  of  their  terrible 
task  is  over,  the  reports  indicate  that  they  are  setting  themselves 
in  the  same  spirit  to  the  work  of  rebuilding  Galveston  and  mak- 
ing of  it  such  a  city  as  it  had  never  before  been  expected  to  be. 

"  There  is  no  more  talk  about  abandoning  the  site  or  allow- 
ing the  city  to  pass  into  a  stage  of  decadence.  The  town  is  to 
be  rebuilt,  from  its  ruins,  and  it  is  not  merely  to  be   rebuilt  but 


316  RESCUE   OF   THE   PERISHING. 

to  be  improved.  Judging  from  the  feeling  manifested  among  tlie 
people  of  the  city,  they  will  come  in  the  future  to  celebrate  'flood 
day'  in  much  the  same  spirit  that  Chicago  commemorates  the 
anniverary  of  its  great  fire. 

"  The  outside  world  has  a  double  duty  to  discharge  in  helping 
'the  people  who  are  showing  this  resolution  and  pluck  in  a  time  of 
severest  trial.  It  would  have  been  a  duty  to  have  given  them  aid 
in  any  event.  But  the  way  in  which  they  are  meeting  their 
calamity  indicates  a  courage  and  a  strength  of  character  to  which 
the  world  can  well  afford  to  pay  tribute.  No  effort  should  be 
spared  to  help  those  who  are  so  bravely  trying  to  help  themselves. 

"  '  The  Daily  News'  is  glad  to  say  that  in  discussing  Galves- 
ton's future  it  is  discussing  what  is  to  be  a  fact — a  fact,  moreover, 
inspiring  in  its  lesson  of  invincible  Anglo-Saxon  will  and  courage 
that  rises  equal  to  all  occasions  and  throws  down  the  challenge  to 

despair. 

HOPE  FOR  THE  RUINED  CITY. 

"  Outside  of  Galveston,  when  the  news  came  of  the  awful 
destruction  by  hurricane  and  ocean  combined,  there  were  not  a  few 
who  asked,  as  did  '  The  Daily  News,'  '  Will  Galveston  be  rebuilt  ?' 
and  paused  for  a  reply.  The  answer  has  come  promptly  and  with 
a  ring  of  determination  and  hope  that  makes  Americans  proud  of 
the  Galvestonians — Yes,  Galveston  will  be  rebuilt.  '  It  will  rise 
greater  and  better  than  ever.' 

"  And  it  is  now  known  that  this  resolution,  taken  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  almost  before  the  great  storm  had  begun  to  subside, 
has  been  caught  up  not  only  by  Galvestonians  themselves  but  by 
all  the  great  business  interests  centering  there,  and  is  re-echoed 
from  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  Chairman  Walker  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Sante  Fe  Railroad 
says  the  city  will  be  rebuilt  aud  doing  business  at  the  old  stand 
in  tliree  months.  The  officials  of  this  road  further  say  that  in  six 
days  the  bridge  from  Virginia  Point  -will  have  been  built  and 
trains  running  over  it. 

"  A  like  spirit  is  being  manifested  by  other  steamship  com- 
panies, whose  trade  doubled  Galveston's  export  business  between 


RESCUE  OF  THE   PERISHING.  317 

1892  aud  1899,  making  it  rank   foiirtli   as    an    export  port  in  the 
United  States,    only  New  York,  Boston,  and  Baltimore  surpass- 


ing it. 


"  Leading  business  and  representative  men  of  Galveston,  also, 
instead  of  sitting  down  in  despair,  have   been  busy  at  work  bury- 
ing or  otherwise  disposing  of  their  dead,  clearing  away  the  debris 
and  getting  the  city  in  shape  again  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

"  In  the  face  of  such  a  gallant  spirit  and  purpose,  dif&culties 
and  discouragements  which  at  first  were  appalling  will  disappear. 
In  its  heroic  work  its  strength  and  hope  will  be  all  the  greater  for 
the  friendly  aid  and  encouragement  and  the  munificent  generos-' 
ity  of  America  and  Europe  which  will  help  Galveston  to  get  upon 
its  feet  again." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

Startling  Havoc  Made  by  the  Angry  Storm — Vessels  Far  Out 

on  the  Prairie — Urgent  Call  for  Millions  of  Dollars — 

Tangled  Wires  and  Mountains  of  Wreckage. 

pOLONEL"BILL"  STERRETT,  a  well-known  publisher  of 
V^  Austin,  went  to  Galveston  after  the  storm  and  the  sights  he 
saw  during  his  stay  there  are  thus  described  by  him  : 

"  How  to  commence  the  story  bothers.  Whether  to  start  out 
with  the  absolute  truth  and  wind  the  sheet  about  the  whole  thing 
with  the  simple  expression  '  unspeakable  '  or  to  go  on  and  hint  the 
details  inexpressibly  sad,  intimate  the  horrors,  is  the  question. 

"It  would  be  better  for  the  heart  if  a  veil  could  fall  from 
heaven  and  conceal  what  it  has  done.  It  would  be  better  if  a  fog, 
thick,  like  a  wall,  should  come  up  between  the  sea  and  the  land 
that  the  latter  might  never  see  the  crime  of  the  former.  For  if 
calm  humanity  shrieked  against  the  awfulness  of  the  one  element, 
it  has  done  it  now. 

"The  broad  pampa  between  Houston  and  Galveston  had  been 
flooded.  The  towns  which  in  the  last  ten  years  had  grown  were 
scared  and  torn  by  this  fiend.  Its  anger  was  shown  in  pastures  as 
well  as  in  towns,  and  yet  none  knew  the  fury  of  it.  There  were  re- 
ports of  destruction  further  on,  and  the  truth  of  them  impressed 
each  man  in  the  cars  as  the  cars  counted  off  its  rattleteteck  in  tolh 
off  the  miles. 

"  Against  a  barbed  wire  fence  the  bloated  carcasses  of  cattle 
had  floated,  their  swollen  limbs  stiff  toward  the  sky,  and  yet  others 
browsed  around  in  the  meadow  now  which  was  a  roaring  sea  but 
four  daj'-s  ago.  The  sight  was  the  first  he  saw  of  death,  and  ever}^ 
man  in  the  car,  as  to  avoid  the  fear  that  arose  in  the  mind  of  each, 
began  to  express  wonder  how  this  could  be,  that  is,  that  some  of 
these  poor  brutes  were  dead  and  others  living.  There  were  vessels 
of  all  tonnage,  kinds  and  degrees  on  the  prairie. 

"  Out  there  was  a  tramp  steamship,  the  other  way  was  the 

818 


HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM.  319 

« 
dredge  boat ;  there  were  yachts,  schooners  and  launches,  but  near 

US  was  the  hobby  horse  of  a  child.  And  so  help  me,  I  would 
rather  have  seen  all  the  vessels  of  the  earth  stranded  high  and  dry 
than  to  have  seen  this  child's  toy,  standing  right  out  on  that 
prairie,  masterless.  Because  one  represented — well,  why,  say  God, 
man's  heart  is  so  weak.  But  surely  he  will  forgive  it  when  it  is 
soft  for  those  who  are  weak. 

"  Debris  of  all  kinds  covered  the  prairie.  It  was  from  Galves- 
ton, because  it  could  be  from  no  other  place.  Every  ant  hill  was 
covered  with  the  remnants  of  homes  in  the  city,  six  miles  away. 
There  were  lace  curtains,  furniture  of  all  kinds,  but  mostly  of  the 
cheap  kind.  There  were  toys,  ladies'  toilet  articles,  bed  clothes, 
and,  in  fact,  everything  that  goes  to  make  up  a  home.  This  point 
was  Texas  City,  six  miles  away  from  Galveston,  across  the  bay. 
The  town  had  suffered  badly. 

GENTLE  AS  A  COUNTRY  POND. 

"  Human  lives  were  lost  there,  and  the  agony  of  it  was  great, 
but  above  all  was  the  idea,  '  What  of  across  the  bay  ?  '  It  was  six 
miles  dead  across,  and  a  schooner  was  in  waiting  to  take  us  over. 
But  before  it  landed  there  was  a  chance  of  observation  of  the  ba}^, 
in  which  the  waters  now  gently  lisped.  For  the  bay  was  as  gentle 
as  a  country  pond.  It  lisped  and  kissed  the  few  blades  of  grass 
that  grew  down  where  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  ridge  was  natural. 
It  did  not  moan  like  the  sea.  It  merely  gurgled.  But  every  little 
wave  threw  up  and  agitated  the  dead.  Bloated  horses  and  cows 
which  provident  housekeepers  in  the  city  across  the  water  had 
owned  and  petted  were  there.  Chickens,  rats,  dogs,  cats  and  ever^^- 
thing,  it  seemed,  that  breathed,  was  there,  dead  and  swollen  and 
"^^aking  the  air  nauseous. 

)  "  But  by  their  sides  were  people.  The  worn-out  people  of  the 
district,  having  saved  their  own  lives  and  buried  their  dead,  were 
quick  to  respond  to  natural  instincts  and  do  right  by  their  kind.  I 
saw  them  take  swollen  women  and  swollen  men  and  swollen  chih 
dren  and  with  quick  shift  place  them  in  two-foot  graves.  It  was 
terrible,  but  what  could  they  do  ? 


320  HAVOC  MADE  EY  THE  ANGRY  STORM. 

"  There  were  no  burial  services.  The  men  who  did  work  were: 
simply  doing  what  they  could  to  relieve  the  air  of  them.  They 
were  not  gentle,  but  how  could  they  be  gentle,  when  the  bodies  lay 
there  with  their  black  faces,  with  their  terribly  swollen  tongues  and 
the  odor  of  decomposition  threatening  those  who  lived  ? 

"  In  the  debris  from  Galveston  was  everything.  I  was  struck 
with  the  idea  that  this  must  have  impressed  the  people  that  the 
world  had  come  to  an  end.  For  twenty-five  miles  on  the  laud  into 
the  interior  this  disorderly  element  raged.  It  destroyed  and  it 
mangled,  and  when  it  ceased  really  the  sea  had  given  up  its  dead, 
and  the  secrets  of  life  were  revealed,  for  walking  among  the  debris 
I  found  a  trunk.     It  had  been  broken  open  by  the  waves. 

''Letters  were  blurred  by  the  waves.  I  picked  up  one,  and  it 
began,  '  My  darling  little  wife,'  and  I  closed  it  and  threw  it  among 
its  fellows  on  the  drift.  She  was  dead.  She  had  kept  this  letter. 
Their  sacred  relations  were  exposed  by  this  terror  to  those  who 
would  read  them.  There  were  dozens  of  men  who  picked  up  those 
letters.     No  one  read  them,  for  man  is  not  so  bad  after  all. 

WRINGING    THEIR    HANDS    IN    AGONY. 

"  Two  women — I  talked  to  them — had  left  two  children  each 
in  Galveston  in  the  destroyed  district,  and  they  sat  through  that 
whole  five  hours'  trip  wringing  their  hands  and  trying  to  curb  the 
volcano  of  lamentation  which  lies  in  the  mother's  heart  when  those 
of  her  flesh  are  imperiled  or  dead. 

"  We  passed  corpses.  We  passed  the  corpses  of  men  and 
women  and  children.  The  moon  was  out,  floating  real  brilliantly, 
and  the  boat  cut  past,  barely  missing  a  woman  with  her  face 
turned  toward  God  and  the  sky.  I  fervently  prayed  I  might  never 
the  the  like  again.  And  when  we  reached  the  wharf,  torn  and 
skinned  so  that  we  had  to  creep  to  land,  I  saw  beneath  me,  white 
and  naked  seven  bodies.  ' 

"  My  very  soul  turned  cold  at  the  grewsome  sight.  Horrible  ! 
The  contemplation  of  it  yet  makes  me  sick,  though  I  have  seen 
things  since  then  that  make  me  and  would  make  the  world  sick, 
if  I  were  able  to  describe  them,  unto  death." 


HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM.  321 

Of  the  pitiful  tales,  that  of  Thomas  Klee,  of  Galvestou,  is  one 
of  the  most  pitiful.  His  wife  was  away  from  home  wheu  the  house 
was  destro3'ed,  and  has  not  since  been  heard  from.  Klee  with  his 
infant  boy  and  girl  in  his  arms  was  carried  for  an  hour  in  the 
whirling  water.  Once  he  tried  to  fasten  the  four  3^ear  old  girl  in 
the  branches  of  a  tree,  but  she  was  torn  from  his  arms  wnile  he 
was  trying  to  make  her  fast.  When  he  finally  gained  a  firm  foot- 
hold he  found  his  boy  dead  in  his  arms.  Since  that  time  he  has 
hardly  been  a  conscious  being  and  he  is  still  in  the  hospital  at 
Houston,  where  he  was  taken  Friday. 

The  body  of  a  nephew  of  Alderman  John  Wagner,  a  youth 
eighteen  years  old,  was  found  lodged  in  the  forks  of  a  tall  cedar 
tree  on  Galveston  Island,  two  miles  from  his  wrecked  home,  and 
tightly  clinched  with  a  death  grip  in  his  right  hand  was  $200 
which  his  father  gave  him  to  hold  while  the  father  attempted  to 
close  a  door,  when  the  house  went  down  and  the  whole  family 
perished  in  the  storm  and  flood. 

CLASPED    HANDS    AND    ESCAPED. 

Encircling  a  water  stand  pipe  with  clasped  hands,  W.  R.  Jones 
and  fifteen  other  men  prevented  themselves  from  being  carried 
away  b}^  the  water,  and  so  saved  their  lives  at  Galveston. 

In  a  wooden  bathtub  Mrs.  Chapman  Bailey  and  Miss  Blanche 
Kennedy  were  carried  out  into  the  gulf,  where  they  spent  Saturday 
night.  Not  till  the  next  morning  did  the  tide  bring  them  back  to 
where  the  rescuing  parties  could  reach  them.  Neither  of  them  has 
a  relative  in  Galveston  left  alive. 

Captain  John  Delaney,  chief  customs  inspector  of  the  port  of 
Galveston,  is  one  of  the  courageous  men  of  the  town.  He  lost  his 
entire  family,  wife,  son  and  daughters,  but  his  sixty  years  were 
not  bowed  by  his  fate.  The  day  following  the  disaster  he  was  at 
his  post,  attired  in  a  suit  of  overalls,  the  only  clothing  he  had 
saved  from  the  wreck  of  his  home,  and  he  has  inspected  all  the 
vessels  that  have  arrived  since  then. 

Along  the  Galveston  wharf  front  the  storm  was  particularly 

violent.     The  big  steel  tank  of  the  Waters-Pierce  Oil   Compau}', 

21 


522  HAVOC  MADE  BY-  THE  ANGRY  S'J'ORM. 

in  wliich  was  stored  during  the  season  cotton  seed  oil,  at  the  foot 
of  Fifteenth  street,  was  blown  to  Twenty-first  street,  a  distance  of 
six  blocks.  It  landed  on  its  bottom  and  rests  now  in  an  unright 
position.  It  is  a  large  tank  and  heavy,  but  the  elements  got  the 
better  of  it. 

RESCUED    TWO    BABES    FROM    DEATH. 

Ray  Ayers,  an  eight  year  old  boy,  unwittingly  rescued  his 
sister's  two  babies  during  the  flood.  He  was  floating  on  a  raft  in 
Galveston  when  he  passed  a  box  with  the  two  children  in  it.  He 
siezed  them,  but  the  weight  was  too  heavy  for  his  raft,  and  so  he 
placed  them  on  two  bales  of  hay  on  top  of  a  floating  shed.  When 
he  found  his  sister  he  learned  that  her  children  were  lost,  and 
when  a  searchipg  party  discovered  them,  the}^  were  still  sleeping, 
unconscious  of  their  danger. 

James  Battersole,  of  Galveston,  was  one  of  the  men  who  were 
carried  far  out  to  sea  during  the  storm,  whirled  back  again  in  the 
rush  of  waters,  and  lived  to  tell  of  it.  The  roof  of  his  house,  on 
which  he  had  sought  refuge,  served  as  his  raft,  and  the  spot  on 
which  he  landed  was  very  close  to  the  location  his  house  had 
formerly  occupied. 

Margaret  Lee's  life  was  saved  at  the  expense  of  her  brother's. 
The  woman  was  in  he  Twelfth  street  home,  in  Galveston,  when 
the  hurricane  struck.  Her  brother  seized  her  and  guided  her  to 
St.  Mary's  University,  a  short  distance  away.  He  returned  to 
search  for  his  son,  and  was  killed  by  a  falling  house. 

While  George  Boyer,  of  Galveston,  was  being  carried  Avith 
frightful  velocity  down  the  bay  he  saw  the  dead  face  of  his  wife  in 
the  branches  of  a  tree.  The  woman  had  been  wedged  firmly 
between  two  branches. 

Mrs.  P.  Watkins  is  a  raving  maniac  as  the  result  of  her  ex- 
perience. With  her  two  children  and  her  mother  she  wai  drifting 
on  a  roof,  when  her  mother  and  one  child  were  swept  away.  Mrs. 
Watkins  mistakes  attendants  in  the  hospital  for  her  lost  relatives, 
and  clutches  wildly  for  them. 

Harry   Steele,   a  cotton   man,  and  his   wife  souglit   safety  in 


HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM.  323 

three  successive  houses,  which  were  demolished.  Thej'  event aall}'' 
climbed  on  a  floating  door  and  were  saved. 

Though  separated  by  the  storm  and  washed  in  different  direc- 
tions all  the  members  of  the  Stubbs  family,  of  Galveston,  were 
rescued.  Father,  mother  and  two  children  were  on  a  floating  roof 
that  broke  in  pieces.  The  father,  with  one  child,  went  one  way. 
The  mother  went  another,  and  the  remaining  children  went  in 
still  a  third  direction.'     Sunday  evening  all  four  were  reunited. 

L.  F.  Menage,  of  iVustin,  who  returned  from  Galveston  Friday 
night,  reached  the  Tremont  Hotel,  Galveston,  the  Friday  evening 
before  the  terrible  storm  began.  He  says  it  has  been  the  most  ter- 
rible week  in  his  experience  ,  the  most  awful  two  days  a  man 
could  imagine  were  the  Sunday  and  Mouda}''  succeeding  the 
hurricane. 

"ALL    GONE!— ALL    GONE!" 

"  One  man  would  ask  another  how  his  family  had  come  out," 
said  Mr.  Menage  last  night,  "  and  the  answer  would  be  indifferent 
and  hard — almost  offish  :  '  Oh,  all  gone.'  'All  gone  '  was  the 
phrase  on  all  sides. 

"  The  night  before  the  disaster,  when  I  reached  the  hotel,  it 
was  blowing  rather  hard,  and  the  clerk  said  we  were  in  for  a  storm, 
and  I  asked  him  if  his  roof  was  firmly  fixed,  and  he  said,  '  Well, 
it  won't  be  quite  as  bad  as  that,'  but  by  the  next  night  at  the  same 
time  there  was  three  feet  of  water  in  the  rotunda  and  the  skylight 
had  fallen  in  and  the  servants'  annex  been  blown  to  pieces,  and  the 
place  was  crowded  with  refugees  who  arrived  from  all  points  of  the 
city  in  boats.  Saturday  night  there  was  little  sleep,  yet  no  one 
realized  the  extent  of  the  disaster. 

"  On  Sunday  morning  one  could  walk  on  the  higher  streets,  so 
^juickly  had  the  water  gone  down.  I  took  a  walk  along  the  beach, 
and  the  place  was  one  great  litter  of  overturned  houses,  debris  of 
all  kinds  and  corpses,  I  met  one  woman  who  burst  into  tears  at 
sight  of  a  small  rocker,  her  propert}^,  mixed  in  among  the  wreck- 
age. She  had  lost  all  her  family  in  the  flood.  People  were  for  the 
most  part   bereft   of   their  senses  from  the   horror,  and  a  single 


324  HAVOC  MADE  BV  THE  ANGRY  STORM. 

funeral  would  liave  seemed  more  terrible — more  solemn — than  a 
pile  of  cremated  bodies. 

"The  tales  of  looting  are  only  too  true,  and  as  I  passed  north- 
^vard  in  a  sailboat  on  Tuesday  I  heard  the  shots  ring  out  which 
told  that  some  ghoul  was  paying  the  penalty.  Galveston  will  rise 
again  on  the  old  site,  and  without  as  much  difficulty  as  is  at 
present  anticipated.  Most  of  the  people  will,  however,  tr}^  and  live 
on  the  mainland. 

Miss  Sarah  E.  Pilkington,  a  "well-known  young  woman  of 
Chester,  Penna.,  was  one  of  those  who  escaped  the  terrible  storm 
whicli  broke  over  Galveston.  Miss  Pilkington  left  Houston  just 
a  few  hours  before  the  dreadful  storm  broke,  but  she  was  suffi- 
ciently near  its  origin  to  hear  the  rush  and  roar  of  the  wind.  "  I 
distiuctl}^  remember,"  said  she,  "  the  approach  of  the  hurricane. 
It  sounded  like  two  express  trains,  each  rumbling  in  opposite 
directions.  Suddenly  there  was  a  loud  report  similar  to  the  noise 
of  a  big  collision,  and  the  tornado  was  separated,  one  portion 
going  in  the  direction  of  Galveston,  the  other  wending  its  way 
toward  Houston.     I  was  staying  at  Milliken." 

For  some  time  after  the  hurricane  Miss  Pilkington  could  not 
be  communicated  with,  and  it  was  thought  for  a  week  that  she  had 
perished  in  the  tornado. 

NO    TIME    TO    DIG    GRAVES. 

Galveston,  Texas,  Tuesda}^ — The  work  of  digging  bodies 
from  the  mass  of  wreckage  still  continues.  More  than  400  bodies 
were  taken  out  of  the  debris  which  lines  the  beach  front  to-da3^ 
With  all  that  has  been  done  to  recover  bodies  buried  beneath  or 
pinned  in  the  immense  rift,  the  work  has  hardly  started.  There 
is  no  time  to  dig  graves,  and  the  bodies,  beaten  and  bruised  beyond 
identification,  are  hastily  consigned  to  the  flames. 

Volunteers  for  this  work  are  coming  in  fast.  Men  who  have 
heretofore  avoided  the  dead  under  ordinary  conditions  are  now 
working  with  vigorous  will  and  energy  in  putting  them  away. 
Under  one  pile  of  wreckage  this  afternoon  twenty  bodies  were  taken 
out  and  cremated.     In  another  pile  a  man  pulled  out  the  bodies  of 


HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM.  82 


oZ.) 


two  children,  and  for  a  moment  gazed  upon  them  and  tlien 
mechanically  cast  them  into  the  fire.  They  were  his  own  children. 
He  watched  them  until  they  were  consumed  and  then  he  resumed 
his  work,  assisting  in  removing  other  bodies. 

A  large  force  of  men  are  still  engaged  in  removing  the  dead 
from  Kurd's  lane,  about  four  miles  west  of  the  city.  At  this  point 
the  water  ran  to  a  height  of  fourteen  feet,  and  left  in  trees  and 
fences  the  bodies  of  men,  women  and  children,  which  are  now 
being  collected  and  cremated. 

On  the  mainland  the  search  for  and  cremation  of  bodies  is 
being  vigorously  prosecuted.  Reports  received  from  Bolivar  Penin- 
sula, where  between  300  and  400  bodies  were  lying  along  the 
beach  and  inland,  show  that  the  dead  are  being  buried  as  rapidly 
as  possible.  The  man  bringing  the  report  says  the  force  is  inade- 
quate and  should  be  immediately  increased. 

DISINFECTING    THE    CITY. 

The  manner  of  disposing  of  the  wreckage  and  its  mass  of 
bodies  in  this  city  has  not  as  yet  been  definitely  decided  upon. 
Every  energy  is  now  employed  in  getting  rid  of  the  dead,  opening 
streets,  cleaning  alleys  and  gutters  and  disinfecting  the  city. 
When  this  is  done  the  removal  of  the  immense  mass  of  debris  will 
commence.  Everything  is  in  readiness  to  turn  on  the  current  for 
the  electric  lights  in  the  business  district,  but  because  of  the 
danger  from  hanging  wires  on  the  circuit,  the  lighting  has  been 
indefinitely  postponed.  Three  telephone  wires  are  now  working 
between  Galveston  and  Houston. 

Chairman  Davidson,  of  the  Relief  Committee,  says  the  great- 
est sufferers  from  the  storm  are  those  persons  of  limited  means 
who  owned  homes  near  the  beach.  There  are  hundreds  of  these, 
who  owned  lots,  and  by  giving  liens  upon  them,  had  homes  con- 
structed by  loan  companies. 

A.  Holzman,  representing  Frederick  G.  Holzman,  of  Cincin- 
nati, purchaser  of  the  sewerage  bonds  of  the  city  of  Galveston  to 
the  amount  of  $300,000,  arrived  to-day  and  consulted  with  the  city 
officials  as  to  whether  it  was  proposed  to  accept  a  sewerage  system 


326  HAVOC  MADE  JJV  THE  ANGRY  STORM. 

ill  accordance  with  plans  adopted  prior  to  the  storm.  He  received 
assurances  that  the  storm  would  in  no  wa}^  affect  the  construc- 
tion of  the  sewerage  system,  and  as  soon  as  possible  work  would 
commence. 

W.  B.  Groseclose,  assistant  general  freight  agent  of  the  Mis- 
souri, Kansas  and  Texas  Railroad,  reached  Galveston  this  evening 
He  says  the  road  will  commence  to  receive  grain  for  shipment  to 
Galveston  on   September   22.     A  large   force  of  men   is   engaged 
repairing  one  of  the  railroad  bridges  across  Galveston  Bay. 

A  force  of  Deput}-  United  States  Marshals  under  Marshal 
Grant  is  guarding  the  entrance  to  Galveston,  at  Texas  City,  and 
keeping  away  all  persons  who  can  show  no  good  cause  for  coming 
here.  Crowds  are  daily  leav^ing  the  city,  a  majority  being  women 
and  children.  The  city  is  still  under  martial  law,  and  will  remain 
so  indefinitely.  Idlers  and  sightseers  who  elude  the  guards  on  the 
mainland  are  upon  their  arrival  here  pressed  into  the  street 
service. 

SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  CLARA  BARTON. 

Galveston,  Tex.,  Septe  nber  18. — Clara  Barton,  President  of 
the  Red  Cross  Societ}-,  who  came  here  to  distribute  relief  supplies, 
was  stricken  down  at  her  work  to-day  while  ministering  to  the  vic- 
tims of  the  Galveston  storm.  She  succumbed,  like  a  soldier,  at  her 
post.     To-night  she  lies  seriously  ill  at  the  Tremont  Hotel. 

She  was  stricken  at  a  conference  in  her  rooms  at  the  Tremont, 
with  her  staff  of  nine  gathered  about  her.  She  had  just  finished 
an  outline  of  her  work,  assigning  each  member  of  her  staff  to  the 
particular  part  of  the  work  that  one  was  to  do.  Suddenly  she 
ceased  speaking.  Turning  to  Mrs.  Ellen  Spencer  Mussey,  Vice- 
President  of  the  Red  Cross,  who  sat  at  her  side,  she  whispered : 

"  Begin  talking.     I  am  going  to  faint.     Don't  let  them  see." 

Miss  Barton  leaned  back  in  her  chair  and  Mrs.  Mussey  arose, 
and,  standing  before  her,  began  speaking.  Without  a  sign  to  the 
others  Mrs.  Mussey  finished  what  she  had  to  say  and  then  dis- 
missed the  conference. 

Galveston  people  arose  with  heavy  hearts  this  morning.    Thou- 


HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM.  327 

sands  of  them  were  driven  from  tlieir  beds.  Shortly  after  sun:  ise 
there  came  a  downpour  of  rain,  the  first  since  the  storm.  If  there 
was  a  house  in  town  that  had  been  sufficiently  repaired  to  shed  the 
rain  it  was  a  rare  exception.  Cremation  of  the  dead  and  clearing 
the  streets  have  taxed  the  energies.  There  has  not  been  time  to 
give  attention  to  roofs.  Such  repairs  as  have  been  made  to  build- 
ings have  been  in  the  form  of  straightening  and  strengthening 
them  so  that  they  might  not  fall  down.  Man}^,  while  still  standing, 
are  leaning  like  the  tower  of  Pisa  or  are  partly  off  the  foundations. 

FACES  OVERSPREAD  WITH  SADNESS. 

From  this  it  will  be  understood  that  when  the  rain  poured 
down  it  entered  the  houses  still  called  habitable  and  drenched  the 
contents  again.  The  faces  of  the  people  showed  the  influence  of 
the  rain.  They  were  overspread  with  sadness.  The  hopefulness 
which  had  been  lighting  up  the  features  was  gone.  Bat  it  was 
only  an  hour  of  depression.  Then  the  shower,  for  that  was  all  it 
proved  to  be,  passed.     The  sun  come  out. 

All  Galveston  went  to  work  with  renewed  energy.  Three  or 
four  horse  cars  made  their  appearance  and,  drawn  by  mules,  were 
operated  over  several  streets.  At  the  wharves  there  was  activity. 
The  loading  of  wheat  for  export  was  commenced.  Cremation  and 
cleaning  went  on.  The  finding  and  burning  of  over  loo  bodies  in 
the  day  shows  that  the  end  of  this  duty  is  not  j^et  in  sight. 

In  the  southern  and  southwestern  part  of  the  city  the  great 
\vindrow  of  wreckage  still  stands,  concealing  from  sight  but  not 
from  smell  what  is  underneath.  Word  was  sent  along  the  inner 
side  of  the  windrow  to  occupants  of  houses  near  that  the}^  must 
move  back  a  block  The  impression  is  that  this  means  the  author- 
ities have  decided  they  will  apply  the  torch  to  the  great  heaps 
whenever  a  favorable  wind  from  the  north  will  make  burning  safe, 
for  the  rest  of  the  city.     This  action  has  been  strongly  advocated^ 

The  tents  have  come  and  with  board  floors  and  fences  separat- 
ing them  now  make  a  white  city  on  the  beach  front  where  the 
houses  were  swept  away.  They  will  be  much  safer  and  more 
healthy  than  many  of  the  shattered  buildings  which  are  still  occu- 


328  HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM. 

pied  by  the  poorer  classes.  There  have  been  till  now  some  people 
finding  shelter  in  the  wooden  cisterns  which  the  wind  blew  off 
their  foundations  and  left  lying  about  the  streets  and  parks. 
Others  are  in  houses  without  roofs  and  windows  and  still  others  in 
buildings  the  walls  of  which  are  far  from  perpendicular. 

The  following  detailed  account  of  the  experience  of  the  Rev. 
Judson  S.  Palmer  and  his  family,  formerly  of  Sharon,  Penna.,  in  the 
disaster  at  Galveston,  was  received  at  the  former  place  in  a  letter. 
Mrs.  Palmer  and  her  son  were  drowned. 

ROOF    BLOWN    AWAY. 

About  four  o'clock  Dr.  Cline,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  Weather 
Bureau  at  Galveston,  the  letter  stated,  passed,  and  Rev.  Palmer 
asked  him  what  they  had  better  do.  He  advised  them  to  stay 
in  the  house,  as  he  thought  it  was  perfectly  safe.  The  storm 
increased  and  the  water  flowed  into  the  yard.  Mr.  Palmer  went 
downstairs  and  found  the  wind  had  blown  down  the  front  door 
and  several  windows. 

About  dark  sections  of  the  roof  were  blown  off  and  all  the  per- 
sons in  the  house  went  into  Mr.  Palmer's  room.  There  a  prayer 
meeting  was  held,  all  joining  in  prayer  and  singing.  Little  Lee's 
prayer  was  :  "  Dear  Jesus,  do  make  the  water  recede  and  give  us  a 
nice  da}^  to  play  to-morrow." 

After  that  all  who  could  went  into  the  bathroom.  The  water 
arose-  until  it  came  up  to  the  necks  of  Mr.  Palmer  and  his  wife. 
They  then  stepped  upon  the  edge  of  the  bathtub,  Mr.  Palmer  hold- 
ing Lee,  with  his  little  arms  clasping  the  father  about  the  neck 
Mrs.  Palmer  held  to  the  shower-bath  fixtures  overhead  and  passed 
her  other  arm  around  her  husband's  nee]?:.  Suddenly  there  was  a 
grinding  noise.  The  house  upset.  There  was  a  rush  of  water 
and  all  were  engulfed  in  the  flood. 

Mr.  Palmer  and  his  family  became  separated  and  he  never  saw 
them  again.  He  went  to  the  bottom  as  he  was  sure  he  was  drown- 
ing. Suddenly  he  was  caught  by  a  swift  current  and  arose  to  the 
surface.  Pie  crawled  upon  what  he  believed  to  be  a  bundle  of  shut- 
ters and  drifted  until  his  raft  struck  a  shed  and  it  sank.     After 


HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM.  329 

t 

several  hours  he  succeeded  iu  gettiug  on  one  of  the  outbuildings 
of  the  Catholic  convent,  where  he  remained  until  the  water  receded, 
Mrs.  Palmer's  body  and  that  of  her  son  were  not  recovered. 

On  September  20th  a  correspondent  furnished  the  following 
facts  :  "  Normal  conditions  are  being  restored  swiftly  in  Galveston. 
The  work  of  clearing  the  streets  of  debris  continues  unabated  and 
all  relief  work  is  now  thoroughly  systematized.  Several  human 
bodies  were  found  to-day.  No  attempt  was  made  to  identify  them, 
and  they  were  iF^mediately  cremated. 

NECESSARY    BUREAUS. 

*'  A  census  bureau  was  placed  in  operation  to-day.  A  mortuary 
bureau  has  also  been  opened  where  relatives  or  friends  are  to  make 
oath  of  the  known  death  of  persons  lost  in  the  storm.  Hanna  & 
Leonard's  new  elevator  began  business  to-night.  The  British 
steamer  Endeavor  went  under  the  spouts  and  is  taking  on  a  full 
cargo  of  wheat. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  general  relief  committee  to-day  no  one 
was  found  who  would  undertake  the  job  of  removing  the  city's 
debris  on  contract,  as  all  state  it  would  be  impossible  to  make  a 
definite  estimate.  The  nearest  estimate  expert  wreckers  will  make 
is  that  it  will  take  2000  men  ninety  daj^s  to  clear  away  the  debris 
and  get  all  of  the  bodies  out,  and  that  this  will  cost  $500,000.  The 
board  adopted  a  resolution  stating  that  it  was  its  opinion  that  the 
best  way  to  solve  the  problem  of  clearing  the  debris  was  to  let  a 
contract  to  some  one  to  do  this  work. 

"  Dr.  George  H.  Lee,  inspector  of  hospitals  and  dispensaries, 
made  a  favorable  report  on  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  cit}^  The 
losses  to  the  life  insurance  companies  are  estimated  at  $500,000. 
Most  of  those  who  carried  old  line  life  policies  escaped.  The  fra- 
ternal orders  will  lose  heavily." 

Governor  Sayers,  speaking  of  the  situation  at  Galveston  said : 

"  I  look  for  ^he  rebuilding  of  Galveston  to  be  well  under  way 
by  the  latter  p-  .  of  this  week.  The  work  of  cleaning  the  city  of 
uuhealthful  refuse  and  burying  the  dead  will  have  been  completed 
by  that  time. 


330  HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM. 

"  The  loss  of  life  occasioned  by  the  storm  in  Galveston  and 
elsewhere  on  the  sonthern  coast  cannot  be  less  than  12,000  lives, 
while  the  loss  of  property  will  probably  aggregate  $20,000,000. 

"  If  the  laboring  people  of  Galveston  will  only  get  to  work  in 
earnest,  prosperity  will  soon  again  smile  on  the  city.  The  money 
and  food  contrii.  -"tions  coming  from  a  generous  people  have  been  a 
great  help  to  the  people  of  Galveston,  as  it  has  relieved  them  of 
the  necessity  of  spending  their  money  to  support  the  needy,  and  it 
can  now  be  applied  to  the  improvements  of  their  own  property  and 
putting  again  on  foot  their  business  enterprises. 

"  The  work  of  clearing  the  streets  of  debris  is  progressing 
rapidly  under  the  perfect  organization  instituted  by  military  rule 
under  Adjutant-General  Scurry.  Over  two  thousand  men  are 
engaged  on  the  work.  Ninety-eight  bodies  are  reported  as  hav- 
ing been  found  in  the  wreckage  and  removed  to-day.  Bodies 
found  are  buried  or  cremated  and  no  systematic  record  has  been 
kept.  The  storm  wrecked  almost  every  vault  in  the  six  cemeteries 
of  the  city,  and  many  of  the  dead  were  washed  to  sea  in  metal 
cases.  So  far  only  one  casket  has  been  found.  It  had  been  carried 
three  miles  from  the  vault. 

WORK    PUSHED    WITH    VIGOR. 

"  The  work  under  the  direction  of  the  health  department  is 
pushed  with  vigor  and  rapidity.     Over  a  carload  of  disinfectants 
was  taken  from  the  wharves  to-day  and  sent  to  the  heath  depart- 
ment supply  depot,  and  almost  as  much  was  taken  from  that  place 
and   distributed   over   the  city.     Much  was  done   in    the  way  of 
removing  debris  and , disposing  of  animal  carcasses.     The  sick  and^ 
wounded  are  receiving  the   best  of  treatment.     Besides  the  other^ 
hospitals  and  medical  relief  station  already  in  service,  the  marine 
hospital    and    refuge    camp  was    opened    this    afternoon    and  wilh 
accommodate  a  large   number  of   patients.     The  outlook    from  a 
health  standpoint  is  very  encouraging. 

"  Three  pile  drivers  are  at  work  closing  up  the  breach  in  the 
Galveston  Bay  bridge  made  by  the  steamship  Roma.  The  rebuild- 
ing of  the  bridge  is  progressing  rapidly-     A  message  from  General 


HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM.  331 

Superintendent  Nixon,  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad,  to  General 
Manager  Polk  this  evening,  said  trains  will  be  able  to  cross  on 
Thursday.  Orders  have  been  issued  to  allow  freight  to  proceed  to 
Galveston.  The  tracks  on  Galveston  Island  will  be  completed  to 
the  bridge  to-morrow  noon.  Engines  are  again  rnnning  into  the 
Union  Depot,  and  are  bringing  freight  to  the  ships  in  port. 

"The  water  works  system  is  being  gradually  restored  and  the 
mains  are  now  suppl^dng  the  various  hospitals.  Miss  Clara 
Barton,  of  Red  Cross  Society,  has  opened  a  depot  for  supplies. 
She  has  sent  orders  for  medicine  and  surgical  dressings,  food  for 
the  sick  and  clothing  and  shoes. 

WANTS    A    BREAKWATER. 

"Congressman  Hawley  advocates  the  building  of  a  break- 
water, beginning  at  the  south  jetty  and  extending  westward, 
parallelling  the  shore  of  Galveston  Island  for  a  distance  of  about 
seven  miles.  With  a  base  of  twenty-five  feet  and  crown  of  eight 
feet,  capped  with  heav}^  granite  blocks,  he  believes  this  would 
break  the  force  of  a  tidal  wave  and  adequately  protect  Galveston. 

"  The  people  are  still  leaving  the  city  in  considerable  numbers, 
but  the  relief  work  locally  has  now  been  gotten  down  to  such  a  fine 
point  that  it  is  likely  there  will  be  a  marked  diminution  of  the 
exodus  during  the  next  two  or  three  days.  Fears  of  an  epidemic 
have  been  allayed  by  the  distribution  of  medicines  and  disinfect- 
ants, and  a  feature  which  would  undoubtedly  have  had  the  effect  of 
causing  many  to  seek  succor  elsewhere  has  been  eliminated  from 
the  situation. 

"  Supplies  and  money  are  now  pouring  in  from  all  over  the 
country,  and  at  least  seven  figures  are  needed  to  express  the 
amount  of  cash  so  far  received.  This  is  being  used  judiciously, 
and  the  good  effects  of  the  presence  of  such  a  relief  fund  in  the 
city  are  already  apparent.  An  order  of  the  militar}^  government 
directed  against  idle  negro  women  went  into  operation  to-day.  It 
has  been  decided  by  the  Central  Relief  Committee  to  establish  a 
camp  in  which  these  women  will  be  held  and  kept  off  tlie  streets 
and  out  of  the  way  of  those  who  are  burying  the  dead." 


332  HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM. 

To  put  Galveston  on  her  feet  will  require  $5,000,000.  Sncli 
is  the  opinion  of  Congressman  Hawley,  one  of  the  representative 
business  men.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  sum  mentioned  will 
come  anywhere  near  restoring  the  city  to  the  condition  before  the 
storm.     Far  from  it. 

Mr.  Hawley  was  simply  asked:  "  What  measure  of  relief  will 
burn  your  dead,  clean  and  purif}^  your  streets  and  public  places, 
feed  and  clothe  the  living  and  place  your  people  where  they  can 
be  self-sustaining  and  in  a  way  to  regain  what  has  been  lost  ?" 

His  reply  was  :  "  It  will  take  $5,000,000  to  relieve  Galveston 
from  the  distress  of  the  storm.  At  least  that  sum  will  be  needed 
to  dispose  of  the  dead,  to  remove  the  ruins  and  to  do  what  is  right 
for  the  living. 

SOME    MEANS    TO    HELP    PEOPLE. 

*'I  tbink  that  we  should  not  only  feed  and  clothe,  but  that  we 
ought  to  have  some  means  to  help  people  who  have  lost  everything 
to  make  a  start  toward  the  restoration  of  their  homes.  To  do  this 
will  require  every  dollar  of  $5,000,000." 

There  are  now  on  the  scene  more  nurses  and  physicians  than 
are  required.  The  injured  are  rapidly  recovering  from  their 
wounds,  which  are  largely  superficial.  Many  men  and  women  are 
suffering  from  severe  nervous  shock,  and  find  it  impossible  to 
sleep.  Food  is  coming  in  by  the  boatload  and  carload  faster 
than  it  can  be  handled,  in  such  generous  quantities  that  no  further 
doubts  are  entertained  about  supplies.  Relief  headquarters  in  each 
of  the  twelve  wards  deal  out  supplies  to  applicants  in  their  re- 
spective wards. 

Estimates  of  the  numbers  dependent  upon  the  relief  commit- 
tees vary.  Mayor  Jones  makes  it  about  8000,  while  other  authori- 
ties put  the  number  as  high  as  15,000.  In  the  business  centre  the 
streets  have  been  cleaned  and  opened.  All  buildings  still  show 
marks  of  wind  and  water,  but  goods  are  displa3'^ed  and  business  is 
being  transacted.  The  city  is  gradually  assuming  its  bustling 
ante-flood  appearance.  Stenches  no  longer  assail  the  nostrils,  ex- 
cept where  much  debris  still  remains  untouched. 


HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM.  333 

Cremation  of  the  dead  is  being  pushed,  but  it  will  be  niaii^^ 
days  before  the  working  parties  get  out  the  last  of  the  bodies.  Tlie 
whole  twenty-two  miles  of  the  island  was  submerged.  The  horn^rs 
of  the  western  portion  be3^ond  the  city  limits  are  just  beiug  learned. 
\t  San  Luis  i8i  bodies  were  burned  to-da}^  Between  twenty  and 
thirt}^  bodies  were  counted  among  the  piles  of  th'  railroad  bridge 
between  the  island  and  Virginia  Point.  In  Kinkead's  additiou 
about  lOO  were  lost,  eighteen  in  one  house.  There  were  also  losses 
at  Nottingham,  one  of  the  Galveston  island  villages,  where  noth 
iug  but  wreckage  remains. 

One  hundred  bodies  were  buried  in  Galveston  on  Sunday.  The 
further  the  men  work  in  the  Denver  reservoir  section  the  more 
numerous  do  they  find  the  dead.  Fires  are  burning  every  300  feet 
on  the  beach  and  along  many  of  the  streets.  Mayor  Walter  C. 
Jones  to-day,  in  response  to  a  request,  made  a  statement  of  condi- 
titms  and  needs  of  Galveston  people,  basing  his  conclusions  on  the 
most  current  information  which  has  come  to  him.  Mayor  Jones' 
statement  is  as  follows  : 

"WE    ARE    BROKE." 

"  It  is  almost  impossible  to  speak  definitely  as  yet  of  the  needs 
of  our  people.  We  are  broke,  the  majority  of  us.  Galveston  must 
have  suffered,  in  ni}^  estimation,  based  upon  all  of  the  reports  I 
have  to  the  extent  of  $20,000,000.  We  now  need  money  more  than 
anything.  From  the  advices  I  have  received  I  believe  that  the  ship- 
ments of  disinfectant  and  food  supplies  now  on  the  way  will  be 
sufficient  to  meet  the  immediate  wants.  By  the  time  these  are  used 
we  shall  have  regained  our  tranquility." 

This  is  the  ninth  day  after  the  storm  and  still  the  grewsorae 
works  goes  on  of  recovering  the  dead  from  the  gigantic  mass  of  | 
debris  that  lines  the  southside  of  what  remains  of  the  city.     Among 
the  scores  of  bodies  recovered  and  cremated  yesterday  was  a  mother 
with  a  suckling  babe  tightly  clasped  to  her  breast. 

The  body  of  Major  W.  T.  Levy  United  States  Immigrant 
Inspector  of  this  district,  was  among  the  number.  He  had  made 
a  struggle  to  save  liis  wife  and  three  children   but  all  were  lost. 


334  HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM. 

The  bodies  of  the  wife  and  children  have  not  been  recovered,  or  if 
.so  they  are  still  among  the  uninterred  dead. 

The  task  of  recovering  the  bodies  that  are  beneath  or  jammed 
into  this  immense  rick  of  debris,  extending  from  the  eastern  to  the 
western  limits  of  the  city,  a  distance  of  over  thi  ^  miles,  is  a 
herculean  one,  and  the  most  expenditious  way  of  removing  the 
whole  from  a  sanitary  point  of  view,  is  by  fire.  This,  however,  in 
J  the  crippled  condition  of  the  fire  department  and  woter  works, 
would  endanger  the  remaing  portion  of  the  city.  As  it  now  stands 
this  immense  mass  of  debris,  strewn  with  dead  bodies,  the  carcasses 
of  decaying  animals,  etc.,  is  a  sore  menance  to  the  health  of  the 
city  and  is  the  most  difficult  problem  the  Board  of  Health  has  to 
deal  with. 

OPENING    UP    THE    STREETS. 

The  work  of  opening  up  the  streets  and  disinfecting  them  is 
being  vigorously  prosecuted.  The  debris  and  garbage  is  being 
removed,  250  vessels  of  every  description  carrying  it  out  to  a  safe 
place,  where  it  is  burned.  In  a  few  days  all  streets  will  be  opened 
for  the  passage  of  vehicles.  It  was  decided  at  a  meeting  of  t-he 
Central  Executive  Commiltee  that  all  the  laborers  emploj^ed  in 
burying  the  dead,  cleaning  the  buildings  and  moving  the  debris 
from  the  streets  and  sidewalks  shall  receive  $1.50  per  day  and 
rations.  Heretofore  they  have  been  working  for  nothing,  and  if 
the}^  refuse  I  were  impressed  by  the  military. 

The  work  of  relief  of  the  sick  and  injured  is  well  in  hand 
and  under  the  direction  of  skilled  physicians  and  nurses  it  is  im- 
proved dail}^  Eleven  hundred  tents  were  received  by  the  Board 
of  Health.  All  except  300,  retained  for  hospital  purposes,  will  be 
;  distributed  by  the  chairmen  of  various  ward  sub-committees  to 
shelter  the  homeless  in  their  respective  wards. 

Houston,  Tex.,  September  17. — The  day  after  the  report  of  the 
storm  at  Galveston  had  been  published  to  the  world  the  Houston 
representative  of  a  Northern  journal  received  this  "  rush  "  tele-, 
gram  :  "  Get  photographs  of  Galveston  storm  scenes,  no  matter 
what  the  expense  ;  rush  them  through." 


HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM.  335 

At  that  time  no  one  liad  gone  from  tlie  outside  to  Galves'oii, 
not  even  newspaper  men.  Galveston  was  practicall}-  cut  off  from 
the  outside  world.  The  scores  of  people  hurrying  to  Houston  witL 
the  desire  of  getting  to  Galveston  by  the  railroad  and  boats  plying 
between  there  and  that  city  could  not  make  the  trip. 

The  representative  endeavored  to  charter  a  tug  to  send  a 
photographer  and  some  newspaper  men  through,  but  the  captair 
refused  to  go. 

CAPTAIN    WOULD    NOT    RISK    THE    TRIP. 

*'  I  will  sell  you  m}^  boat,"  he  said,  "  but  neither  myself  nor 
my  men  will  risk  the  trip." 

By  putting  several  thousand  men  at  work  all  day  Monday  and 
Monda}^  night  one  railroad  line  was  put  in  condition  for  a  train  to 
go  from  Houston  to  Texas  City,  six  miles  from  Galveston,  the 
island  being  across  the  bay. 

This,  the  first  train  out  of  Houston,  was  to  leave  early  Tues- 
day morning.  The  news  of  its  intended  departure  spread  to  all 
parts  of  the  countr3^  Hundreds  of  grief-stricken,  bewildered  peo- 
ple, nearly  crazed  with  anxiety  for  relatives  in  the  storm-swept 
countr37,  stayed  up  all  night,  with  the  hope  of  getting  into  Galves- 
ton. The  railroad  men  let  all  that  the}^  could  possibly  stow  away 
in  the  coaches  get  on  board,  telling  them  in  advance,  however,  that 
no  one  would  be  able  to  get  from  Texas  City  to  Galveston. 

Arriving  there  with  the  train  was  the  special  photographer  of 
the  newspaper  with  his  camera.  When  this  crowd  of  men  and 
women  reached  Texas  City  they  found  no  means  of  riding  further. 

The  only  possible  way  to  make  the  perilous  trip  was  to  walk 
to  Virginia  Point,  two  miles  awa}^,  and  this  was  across  the  marsh 
filled  with  debris  and  bodies  from  the  Galveston  wreck.  The  pho- 
tographer and  the  ten  other  men  attempted  the  task.  The}'-  were 
nearly  exhausted  when  the  two  miles  were  fiuisned.  They  had 
taken  off  their  shoes  and  walked  up  to  their  waists  in  wat^r.  Their 
feet  were  bruised.  The  photographer  carefullj'  kept  his  camera 
from  coming  in  contact  with  the  water,  however,  and  got  several 
graphic  views  when  he  reached  the  place. 


336  HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANORV  STORM. 

The  ten  men  found  a  skiff  that  was  thrown  np  the  bay  by  the 
rush  of  water  on  that  fateful  Saturday  night.  They  dragged  it 
for  many  weary  yards,  finally  getting  it  into  the  water,  and  man- 
aged to  row  to  Huntington  Wharf,  Galveston,  a  distance  of  two 
miles.  Worn  out  as  they  were,  they  walked  to  the  city,  the  man 
with  the  camera  being  the  iirst  photographer  in  from  the  outside. 

His  troubles  were  not  over,  though.  There  were  hundreds  of  . 
ferrible  scenes  to  photograph  ;  at  every  turn  there  was  a  graphic 
picture;  but  the  people  of  Galveston,  crazed  with  grief  as  they 
were,  seemed  to  think  it  a  desecration  that  he  was  there,  and  that 
views  of  their  wrecked  town  and  their  dead  should  be  thus  recorded 
by  the  camera.     They  muttered  and  they  threatened. 

The  photographer  moved  from  one  place  to  another.  He  hid 
himself  and  only  took  a  snapshot  when  he  knew  he  was  safe  from 
the  scrutiny  of  the  men  and  women  who  thought  his  w^ork  was  a 
mocker}^  of  their  grief.  To  show  the  real  mind  of  the  people  it 
will  only  be  necessary  to  state  that  many  newspaper  men  who  have 
visited  all  parts  of  the  world  as  special  correspondents,  who  have 
had  ingress  to  courts  and  Parliament,  who  have  traveled  ever}^- 
where  there  has  been  news  to  find,  found  it  impossible  to  get  into 
Galveston. 

GETTING    OUT  OF    GALVESTON. 

Getting  out  of  Galveston,  however,  is  comparatively  easy.  It 
was  Wednesday  morning  when  the  photographer  finally  reached 
Houston,  exhausted  and  nervous  to  a  degree  that  made  working  a 
torture.  He  managed  to  develop  his  pictures,  and  that  evening 
that  man  rushed  forward  the  first  photographs  of  actual  storm 
scenes  to  leave  the  city. 

One  hundred  and  thirty  bodies  of  storm  victims  were  recov- 
ered and  cremated  to-day  (September  17),  nine  days  after  the  hur- 
ricane, and  still  there  are  hundreds  more  to  be  found.  The}^  lie 
for  the  most  part  under  the  twisted  heaps  of  debris  that  line  the 
cit}^  for  miles  along  its  southern  side. 

The  problem  of  clearing  away  the  wreckage  in  this  part  of 
the  city,  where  it  is  thickest,  is  still  a  very  troublesome  one  despite 


HAVOC  MADE  BY  THE  ANGRY  STORM.  337 

all  the  work  that  has  been  done.  The  quickest  and  best  way 
would  doubtless  be  by  fire,  but  the  very  mention  of  fire  has  a 
terror  for  Galvestouians  now.  The  city  is  practically  without  pro- 
tection from  fire,  and  if  the  flames  once  get  a  good  start,  a  holo- 
caust might  be  the  result,  which  would  be  only  second  in  horror 
to  the  hurricane. 

The  problem  is  all  the  more  serious  because  the  danger  of  an 
epidemic  caused  by  the  many  dead  bodies  of  men  and  animals  is 
still  great.  Sickness  of  a  malarial  type  is  already  prevalent.  The 
debris  and  garbage  is  being  removed  with  the  aid  of  250  wagons 
to  places  where  it  can  safely  be  burned,  but  that  is  a  very  slow 
process.  Men  are  still  being  impressed  for  the  work  under  the 
oversight  of  the  soldiers,  but  hereafter  all  the  laborers  will  be  paid 
$1.50  a  day  out  of  the  relief  funds. 

ABOUT  17,000  PEOPLE  RECEIVING  RELIEF, 

Health  Officer  Wilkinson  stated  that  40  per  cent,  of  the  debris 
of  every  description  had  been  removed  from  the  streets  ;  that  95 
per  cent,  of  the  dead  bodies  had  been  disposed  of,  and  that  95  per 
cent,  of  the  carcasses  of  animals  had  been  removed  from  the  city. 

Among  the  bodies  found  was  that  of  Major  W.  T.  Lev}^, 
United  State?  emigrant  inspector  for  Galveston.  His  wife  and 
three  children  perished,  but  their  bodies  have  not  been  recovered, 
fn  one  place  the  body  of  a  mother  was  found  v/ith  a  babe  of  a  few 
mouths  tightly  clasped  to  her  breast. 

About  17,000  people  are  now  receiving  relief  each  day,  and 
the  supplies  are  sufficient  for  their  immediate  wants.  This  morn- 
ing the  first  supplies  brought  by  the  Chicago  relief  train  arrived 
here  by  way  of  Clinton.  The  train  reached  Houston  at  midnight 
Saturda}^,  having  made  a  run  of  270  miles  from  Fort  Worth  at  at 
average  speed  of  thirty-seven  miles  an  hour.  Owing  to  a  change^ 
in  its  schedule  the  people  who  had  been  watching  for  its  arrival 
failed  to  see  it,  and  it  was  rushed  over  the  Southern  Pacific  Road 
to  Clinton,  where  barges  were  waiting  for  the  supplies. 

The  Chicago  train  was  the  largest  that  has  yet  been  sent  to 

Palveston,  and  many  expressions  of  gratitude  to  Chicago  are  heard 

22 


ouc 


K.W'OC  MADE   BV  THE  ANGRY  STORM. 


here.  Mayor  Jones,  for  instance,  said  to-day  :  "  Chicago  people  are 
the  best  kind  of  friends  to  have  when  oue  is  in  trouble.  We  can- 
not express  our  thanks  to  them.  We  will  show  by  our  future 
vvhat  their  help  has  meant  to  us.  Like  Chicago  we  will  rise  above 
all  disaster  and  rebuild  our  city  better  than  it  has  ever  been  before." 

Eleven  huudred  tents  were  received  to-day  by  the  Board  of 
Health.  All  except  300,  which  were  retained  for  the  marine  hos- 
pital on  the  beach,  have  been  distributed  to  the  homeless  in  the 
different  wards. 

Miss  CUira  Barton  is  "giving  her  time  and  attention  to  assist-^ 
ing  in  the  work  of  relief  and  ascertaining  what  supplies  are  ueccb' 
sary  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  situation. 

NUMEROUS    CASES    OF    INSANITY. 

The  city  takes  on  more  of  the  appearance  of  a  business  place 
each  day.  To-day  horse  cars  are  running  downtown,  while  there  is 
both  water  and  electric  service  in  limited  portions  of  the  city. 
Telephone  communication  has  been  opened  with  Houston,  and  both 
of  the  telegraph  companies  have  greatly  improved  their  service. 
All  the  railroad  companies  announce  they  will  have  trains  into  the 
city  inside  of  three  days,  although  at  first  only  trains  with  con- 
struction material  may  risk  the  trip  across  the  repaired  bridge. 
The  Santa  Fe  P>oad  expects  its  first  train  on  Thursday. 

A  systematic  effort  was  begun  this  morning  to  obtain  the 
names  of  the  dead,  so  that  the  information  can  be  used  for  legal 
purposes  and  for  life  insurance  settlements.  Sworn  statements 
from  witnesses  of  death  are  being  recorded,  and  communication 
with  people  with  information  who  have  left  the  city  is  being 
opened. 

There  are  numerous  cases  of  insanity  in  Galveston  as  a  result 
of  the  terrible  bereavements  sustained  by  the  survi^'ors.  Judge 
John  J.  Reagan,  a  prominent  lawyer,  is  at  the  Mas'  .c  relief  sta- 
tion in  a  pitable  covidition.  Judge  Reagan  lost  every  relative  lie 
had  in  Galveston.  He  sits  hour  by  hour  in  pathetic  silence.  Then 
he  bursts  out  laughing,  and  his  laughter  is  followed  by  tears. 

There  are  now  a1>out   200  soldiers  in   Galveston  doing   police 


HAVOC  jmade  bv  the  angry  storm.  3fj9 

duty,  aud  more  have  been  called  for.  The  Dallas  Rough  Riders, 
the  Houston  Light  Guards,  the  Galveston  Sharpshooters,  Battery 
D,  of  Houston  aud  Cavalr}^  Troop  A,  Houston,  are  the  commands. 

The  affiliated  labor  organization  of  this  cit}^,  over  500  of  its 
members  having  lost  everything,  has  issued  an  address  appealing 
to  every  labor  organization  throughout  the  country  for  assistance. 
'It  has  appointed  T.  W.  Dee  and  James  F.  Grimes  as  agents  to 
visit  all  large  cities  in  behalf  of  aid  for  their  stricken  members. 
Dee  and  Grimes  have  also  received  credentials  from  Mayor  Jones, 
and  they  left  to-night  on  their  mission. 

Not  a  day  goes  b}'  but  new  stories  of  almost  miraculous 
escapes  and  of  prolonged  suffering  are  told  here.  The  conditions 
of  the  hurricane  were  such  that  it  was  luck  alone  that  permitted 
men  to  escape  death. 

FSCAPE    OF    REV.    L.    P.    DAVIS    AND    FAMILY. 

The  escape  of  Rev.  L.  P.  Davis,  his  wife  and  his  five  young 
children  on  Boliver  Peninsula  and  their  seven  days  of  suffering 
before  thej^  reached  here  is  of  a  kind  rarely  to  be  equaled  in  the 
annals  of  disasters.  This  has  already  been  detailed  in  these 
pages.  Air.  Davis  started  to  drive  his  family  away  from  his  home 
at  Patton  Beach  when  the  vvater  began  to  rise  high.  He  saw  a 
neighbor's  family  washed  out  of  their  wagon  and  rescued  them. 

The  party  made  their  wa}-  to  a  grove,  where  the  adults  tied 
the  children  and  themselves  in  tlie  branches  of  trees.  They  spent 
a  fearful  night.  On  Sunday,  when  the  waters  went  down,  they 
made  their  way  past  many  corpses  till  they  found  a  farmhouse  not 
entirel}^  destroyed.  There  they  got  a  little  food  and  then  set  out 
on  foot,  living  on  the  raw  flesh  of  a  steer  till  they  found  an  over- 
turned sailboat  and  managed  to  reach  Galveston.  From  here  they 
went  to  Houston,  where  they  will  be  cared  for. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Governor  Sayres  Revises  His  Estimate  of  Those  Lost  and 

Makes  it  12,000 — A  Multitude  of  the  Destitute — 

Abundant  Supplies  and  Vast  Work 

of  Distribution. 

GOVERNOR  SAYRES  issued  a  statement  September  igtli, 
in  wliicli  lie  said  in  part :  "The  loss  of  life  occasioned  b}- 
the  storm  in  Galveston  and  dsewhere  on  the  southern  coast 
cannot  be  less  than  12,000  lives,  Avliile  the  loss  of  propert}'  will 
probabl}^  aggregate  $20,000,000.  Notwithstanding  this  severe 
affliction,  I  have  every  confidence  that  the  stricken  districts  will 
rapidly  revive,  and  that  Galveston  will,  from  her  present  desola- 
tion and  sorrow,  arise  with  renewed  strength  and  vigor." 

Speaking  further  of  the  situation  at  Galveston,  the  Governor 
said :  "I  look  for  the  rebuilding  of  Galveston  to  be  well  under 
way  by  the  latter  part  of  this  week.  The  work  of  cleaning  the 
city  of  unhealthful  refuse  and  l)nrying  the  dead  will  have  been 
completed  by  that  time,  and  all  the  available  labor  in  the  cit}-  can 
be  applied  to  the  rebuilding. 

"  If  the  laboring  people  of  Galveston  will  only  get  to  work  in 
earnest,  prosperity  will  soon  again  smile  on  the  cit}-.  Arrange- 
ments have  been  made  to  pay  all  the  laborers  working  under  the 
direction  of  the  military  authorities  $1.50  and  rations  for  ever}^ 
day  they  have  worked  or  will  work.  An  account  has  been  kept 
of  all  work  done,  and  no  laborer  will  lose  one  day's  pay. 

"The  money  and  food  contributions  coming  from  a  generous 
people  have  been  a  great  help  to  the  people  of  Galveston,  as  it 
has  relieved  them  of  the  necessit}^  of  spending  their  mone}''  to 
support  the  needy,  and  it  can  now  be  applied  to  the  improvement 
of  their  own   property  and   putting  again   on  foot  their  business 

enterprises. 

"  Five  dollars  a  day  is   being   offered  to  the  mechanics  who 
will   come  to  Galveston,  and  with   the   assurance  from   reputable 

340 


GOVERNOR    REPORTS   TWELVE   THOUSAND    DEAD.  34i 

physicians  that  there  is  no  extraordinary  danger  of  sickness, 
outside  laborers  will  flock  to  Galveston,  and  before  many  days  a 
new  city  will  rise  on  the  storm-swept  island. 

"  The  telegraph  and  telephone  companies  and  railroads  have 
been  exceedingly  generous  since  the  great  calamity.  They  have 
not  only  given  money,  but  everything  has  been  transported  to 
that  city  free  of  charge,  while  those  desiring  to  get  away  from  the 
•harrowing  scenes  of  Galveston  have  been  transported  free.  The 
people  of  Texas  will  long  remember  with  grateful  hearts  the 
kindness  of  these  companies.  It  is  now  an  assured  fact  that  trains 
will  be  running  into  Galveston  this  week,  and,  with  uninterrupted 
communication  with  the  outside  world,  Galveston  should  soon 
assume  her  normal  condition." 

DISTRIBUTING    $40,000    A    DAY. 

Twenty  thousand  people  are  being  fed  and  cared  for  daily  in 
Galveston  with  the  supplies  which  are  pouring  in  from  all  parts 
of  the  country.  This  will  be  cut  at  least  one-half  in  ten  days,  is 
the  statement  of  W.  A.  McVitie,  chairman  of  the  central  relief 
committee. 

The  estimated  cost  of  the  aid  which  is  now  being  extended  is 
$40,000  a  day.  The  great  bulk  of  the  aid  is  going  to  the  4,000 
men  who  are  at  work  cleaning  up  the  wreckage,  digging  for  bodies 
and  cleaning  the  streets.  Through  them  it  goes  to  their  families. 
No  able-bodied  laboring  man  is  allowed  to  escape  the  work, 
whether  he  needs  aid  or  not,  though  most  of  them  do.  The  busi- 
ness men  who  are  in  position  to  resume  are  allowed  to  attend  to 
their  stores,   and  their  clerical  forces  are  not  interfered  with. 

The  debris-hunting  and  street-cleaning  work  will  be  put  upon 
a  cash  basis,  the  wages  being  $1.50.  Time  has  been  kept  from 
the  beginning,  though  the  records  are  not  complete,  and  it  is  the 
expectation,  if  the  money  which  comes  in  from  outside  is 
adequate,  that  the  men  will  be  paid  for  the  full  time  thc}^  have 
worked.  This  will  apply  to  those  who  had  to  be  made  to  work  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet,  as  well  as  those  who  volunteered  their 
services.     This  will  not  be  given  in  cash,  but  in  the  form  of  orders 


342  GOVERNOR    REPORTS   TWELVE   THOUSAND    DEAD. 

for  tools  for  nieclianics,  lumber  for  tliosc  who  have  homes  they 
wish  to  repair,  etc. 

Heretofore  practically  every  able-bodied  man  has  been  made 
to  work,  and  unless  he  worked  he  got  no  supplies.  The  first  few 
days'  wages  consisted  entirel}/  of  rations,  which  were  given  accord- 
ing to  the  number  and  needs  of.  the  laborer's  family,  regardless 
of  the  amount  of  work  he  accomplished.  Since  other  supplies 
have  begun  coming  in  they  have  been  added. 

The  work  of  distribution  is  being  conducted  systematicalh'' 
and  with  an  apparent  minimum  of  imposition  and  fraud.  There  is  a 
central  committee,  of  which  W.  A  McVitie,  a  prominent  business 
man,  is  chairman.  Then  there  is  a  committee  for  each  one  of  the 
twelve  wards.  As  fast  as  goods  or  provisions  arrive  from  the 
mainland  they  are  placed  in  the  central  warehouse,  from  there 
the  different  ward  chairmen  requisition  them,  and  they  are  taken 
to  supply  depots  in  the  different  wards.  All  day  long  there  is  a 
motley  crowd  around  every  one  of  these  depots,  negroes  predom- 
inating at  least  two  to  one.  Every  applicant  passes  in  review 
before  the  ward  chairman. 

ONLY    THE    DESTITUTE    HELPED. 

"  Ah  want  a  dress  foh  ma  sistah,  "  says  a  big  negress. 

"You're  'Manda  Jones,  and  you  haven't  any  sister  living 
here,"  replied  the  chairman. 

"Foh  de  Lord,  ah  has;  ah  ain't 'Mandy  Jones  at  all  ;  we 
done  live  on  Avenue  N  before  de  storm,  and  we  los'  everything." 

"Go  out  with  this  woman  and  find  out  if  she  has  a  sister  who 
needs  a  dress,"  says  the  chairman  to  a  committeeman.  In  this 
way  check  is  kept  on  all  the  applicants  for  aid. 

At  the  5th  ward  distributing  station  clothing  was  being  given 
awav  this  evening.  A  negro  woman,  who  had  been  refused  a 
supply,  went  outside  and  by  way  of  revenge^pointed  out  different 
ones  of  her  friends  and  neighbors  whom  she  alleged  were  sim- 
ilarly unentitled. 

"  Dat  woman  done  los'  nothin'  at  all,  "  she  shrieked.  "Ah 
did  not  los'  nuthin'  mahself  and  doan  wan'  nuthin." 


GOVERNOR   REPORTS  TWELVE   THOUSAND    DEAD.  dAA 

"What's  the  trouble?"  asked  a  bystander.  An  old  negress 
who  was  lined  up  waiting  her  turn,  replied:  "Oh,  she's  mad 
'cause  de  white  folks  won't  give  her  nutliin."  So  far  no  woman 
has  been  required  to  work,  but  a  strong  feeling  is  developing  to 
compel  negro  women  to  work  cleaning  up  the  houses.  There  are 
plenty  of  people  who  are  willing  to  hire  them,  but  as  long  as  frc 
food  and  clothing  can  be  secured  it  is  hard  to  get  colored  womeij? 
to  go  in  and  clean  up  the  partially  ruined  homes. 

"  Our  supply  of  foodstuffs  is  adequate,"  said  Chairman 
McVitie,  "  but  just  now  we  are  a  little  short  of  clothing.  This, 
however,  may  not  be  true  to-morrow.  We  have  no  idea  of  the 
contents  of  the  cars  on  the  road  to  us.  Frequently  we  don't  know 
anything  is  coming  until  the  cars  reach  Texas  Cit}^  With  the 
money  which  has  been  coming  in  we  have  been  augmenting  our 
supplies  by  purchasing  of  local  merchants  in  lines  where  there 
was  a  shortage. 

SAYS    MONEY    IS    MOST    NEEDED. 

"  What  do  we  need  worst  ?  Money.  If  we  have  money  we 
can  order  just  what  we  need  and  probably  get  better  value  than 
the  people  who  arebuying  it.  Many  people  have  made  the  mis- 
take of  sending  money  to  Houston  and  Dallas  and  asking  com- 
mittees there  to  buy  for  us.  They  do  not  know  just  what  we 
need,  and  if  we  had  the  money  we  could  do  better  for  ourselves. 
Money  should  be  sent  to  us." 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  things  attending  the  Galveston 
disaster  is  the  fortitude  of  the  people.  Their  loss  in  relatives, 
friends  and  property  has  been  so  overwhelming  that  it  seems  too 
much  to  be  expressed  with  outward  grief. 

Two  men  who  had  not  seen  each  other  since  the  disaster  met 
in  the  street.  "  How  many  did  you  lose  ?"  they  asked  by  common 
impulse. 

"I  lost  all  my  property,  but  my  wife  and  I  came  through  all 
right" 

"  I  was  not  so  fortunate.  My  wife  and  my  little  boy  wore 
both  drowned." 


344  GOVERNOR    REPORTS   TWELVE   THOUSAND   DEAD. 

There  was  an  expression  of  S3anpatliy  from  the  other,  but 
nothing  approaching  a  tear  from  either. 

"They  are  making  good  progress  cleaning  up,"  remarked  the 
one  whose  losses  were  heaviest,  with  a  pleasant  smile.  The  other 
one  makes  light  answer  and  they  pass  on. 

The  people  of  Galveston  have  seen  so  much  death  that  they 
are  temporarily  hardened  to  it.  The  announcement  of  the  loss 
of  another  friend  means  little  to  a  man  who  has  seen  the  dead 
bodies  of  neighbors  and  townspeople  hauled  to  the  wharf  by  the 
drayload. 

No  services  have  been  attempted  for  the  dead.  Neither  has 
there  been  memorial  services.  The  Rev.  J.  M.  K.  Kerwin,  priest 
in  charge  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic  Cathedral,  said  :  "  It  was 
impossible.  Priest  and  layman  had  to  join  in  the  work  of  clean- 
ing the  city  of  dead  bodies.  I  don't  expect  there  will  be  memorial 
services  for  a  month." 

STOOD    THE    STORM    WELL. 

Father  Kerwin' s  church  is  among  the  few  which  are  compar- 
atively little  damaged.  He  sets  the  value  of  Catholic  property 
destroyed  in  the  cit}^  at  $300,000.  Included  in  this  loss  is  the 
Ursula  convent  and  academy,  which  was  badly  damaged.  It  cov- 
ered four  blocks  between  Twenty-fifth  and  Twenty-seventh  streets 
and  Avenues  N  and  O.     It  was  the  finest  in  the  South. 

The  city  is  rapidly  improving  in  its  sanitary  conditions.  The 
smell  from  the  ooze  and  mud  with  whicli  most  of  the  streets  are 
filled  is  stronger  than  that  which  comes  from  the  debris  heaps 
containing  undiscovered  bodies.  When  these  heaps  are  being 
burned  and  the  wind  carries  the  smoke  over  the  city,  the  odor  is 
very  similar  to  that  which  afflicts  Chicago  at  night  when  refuse 
is  being  burned  at  the  stockyards,  aud  no  worse.  Soon  even  the 
odor  of  the  slime  will  be  gone.  Every  dumpcart  in  the  city  is  at 
w^ork. 

Every  Galveston  business  man  talks  confidently  of  the  future 
of  the  city,  though  many  of  the  clerks  announce  their  intention 
of  going  away  as  soon  as   they  can  accumulate  money  enough. 


GOVFRNUR    RJiPORTS   TWELVE   Th-OUSAND  DEAD.  345 

*'rm  not  afraid  of  aiiotlier  storm,"  said  a  clerk  in  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal stores.      "  But  I'm  sick  and  tired  of  the  whole  business." 

The  Southwestern  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company,  which 
is  a  branch  of  the  Erie  system,  will  rebuild  its  telephone  system 
here.  "This  will  take  us  three  months,  and  in  the  meantime  we 
will  give  no  service  save  long-distance,"  said  D.  McReynolds, 
superintendent  of  construction.  "We  will  install  a  central  enier- 
genc3^  S3^stem  the  same  as  that  in  Chicago  and  put  all  wires  under 
ground.  We  will  employ  five  hundred  men  if  necessary  to  do  the 
work  in  ninety  daj- s.  The  company's  losses  in  Texas  are  $300,000 
— $200,000  here,  $60,000  at  Houston  and  the  rest  at  other  points." 

Residents  here  are  greatly  pleased  at  this  announcement,  as  it 
shows  the  confidence  of  a  foreign  company  in  the  future  of 
Galveston. 

ONLY    ONE    WHO    ESCAPED. 

Cooped  up  in  a  house  that  collapsed  after  being  carried  along 
by  a  deluge  of  water,  John  Klford,  brother  of  A.  B.  Klford,  Chi- 
cago, his  wife  and  little  grandson,  met  death  in  the  flood  during 
the  Galveston  storm.  Milton,  son  of  John  Elford,  was  in  the 
building  with  the  family  at  the  time,  and  is  the  only  one  of  the 
many  occupants,  including  fifteen  women,  that  is  known  to  have 
escaped. 

A.  B.  Klford  was  dumbfounded  when  he  received  the  first  infor- 
mation of  the  disaster,  for  he  had  no  idea  of  his  brother  being  in 
Texas.  John  Elford  was  a  retired  farmer  and  merchant  of  Lang- 
don,  N.  D.  He  recently  had  taken  his  family  on  a  trip  to  old  and 
New  Mexico.  Mr.  Elford  yesterday  received  the  following  letter 
from  Langdon,  N.  D.  : 

"  We  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Milton.  Father,  mother, 
Dwight  and  Milton  went  to  Galveston  from  Mineral  Springs, 
Texas,  where  they  had  previously  been  stopping.  Tb^y  were  so 
delighted  with  Galveston  on  reaching  there  that  they  ."old  their 
return  tickets  and  decided  to  remain  about  two  months.  They 
were  at  first  in  a  house  near  the  beach,  but  moved  farther  away 
and  to  a  larger  and  stronger  house  when   the  water  began  to  rise. 

"  All  at  once  the  water  came  down  the  street,  bringing  houses 


846  GOVERNOR    REPORTS   TWELVE   THOUSAND    DEAD. 

and  debris.  They  started  to  build  a  raft,  but  before  it  could  be 
got  together  the  house  started  to  float.  It  had  gone  but  a  short 
distance  when  it  went  to  pieces.  Milton  was  struck  with  sonic- 
thing  and  knocked  out  into  the  water.  He  came  ^ip,  caught  a  tim- 
ber and  climbed  to  a  roof,  and  thus  managed  to  make  his  escape. 

"  He  saw  no  one  escape  from  the  building  as  it  collapsed.  We 
do  not  believe  the  bodies  have  yet  been  recovered.  We  have  wired 
for  more  definite  news  regarding  the  bodies,  but  have  heard 
nothing  more.  EDGAR  elford.  " 

William  Guest,  a  Pullman  car  porter,  returned  to  Chicago 
from  the  storm-stricken  district.     He  said  : 

"  I  left  Harrisburg  night  before  last,  and  things  then  in  the 
neighborhood  M'ere  in  a  dreadful  state.  Galveston  is  about  twenty 
miles  distant,  and  the  refugees  were  pouring  in  the  direction  of 
Houston  in  great  numbers.  Many  well-to-do  colored  people  have 
lost  all  they  had.  The  Rev.  W.  H.  Cain,  a  colored  Episcopal 
minister  and  his  entire  family  were  killed,  and  it  was  reported  to 
me  that  Mrs.  Cuney,  the  widow  of  Wright  Cuney,  was  also  lost, 
as  well  as  a  number  of  colored  teachers  employed  in  the  public 
schools.     At  Houston  relief  committees  have  been  organized.  " 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Cain  was  well  known  in  Chicago,  having 
preached  several  times  from  the  pulpit  of  the  St.  Thomas  Epis- 
copal church  in  Dearborn  near  30th  street. 

The  Ouinn  chapel  congregation  decided  at  a  meeting  that 
the  church  at  24th  street  and  Wabash  avenue  should  be  opened 
in  order  that  contributions  of  clothing  and  food  for  the  sufferers 
might  be  received. 

KAISER  MOURNS  FOR  GALVESTON. 

Washington,  D.  C,  Sept  17. — President  McKinley  has 
received  the  following  message  of  sympathy  from  Emperor 
William  of  Germany  : 

"  Stettin,  Sept.  13,  1900. — President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  Washington  :  I  wish  to  convey  to  your  excellency  the 
expression  of  my  deep-felt  sympathy  with  the  misfortune  that 
has     befallen      the      town     and      harbor     of     Galveston      and 


GOVERNOR    REPORTS   TWELVE  THOUSAND    DEAD.  347 

many  other  ports  of  the  coast,  and  I  mourn  with  you  and 
the  people  of  the  United  States  over  the  terrible  loss  of  life  and 
property  caused  by  the  hurricane,  but  the  magnitude  of  the  dis- 
aster is  equaled  by  the  indomitable  spirit  of  the  citizens  of  the 
new  world,  who,  in  their  long  and  continued  struggle  with 
the  adverse  forces  of  nature  have  proved  themselves  to  be 
victorious. 

"  I    sincerely    hope    that   Galveston    will    rise  again  to  new 
prosperity.  William,  i.  r." 

PRESIDENT    THANKS    THE    KAISER. 

The  President's  reply  was  as  follows  : 

"Executive  Mansion,  Sept.  14,  1900. — His  Imperial  and 
Royal  Majesty,  William  II.,  Stettin,  Germany  :  Your  majesty's 
message  of  condolence  and  sympathy  is  very  grateful  to  the 
American  government  and  people,  and  in  their  name  as  well  as 
on  behalf  of  the  many  thousands  who  have  suffered  bereavenieut 
and  irreparable  loss  in  the  Galveston  disaster,  I  thank  you  most 
earnestly.  "  willia:m  mckinley." 

W.  B.  McGown,  a  member  of  the  Dallas  Rough  Riders, 
to-day  arrived  at  Dallas  from  Galveston  on  sick  leave.  He  denies 
the  reports  that  have  been  current  in  Dallas  and  other  Texas 
cities  of  trouble  with  soldiery  at  Galveston  or  of  any  misconduct 
on  the  part  of  the  militia.  Mr.  McGown  says  more  and  fresh 
troops  are  needed  at  Galveston.  One-half  of  the  Houston  Light 
Guard  have  had  to  be  relieved  and  placed  on  sick  leave.  A  num- 
ber have  died  from  malarial  fever  contracted  at  Galveston. 

The  Houston  Cavalry,  the  Navasota  Infantry,  the  Trezevant 
Rifles,  of  Dallas,  and  the  Rough  Riders  were  the  onl}^  troops  on 
duty  last  night,  and  a  considerable  part  of  these  companies  were 
unfit  for  duty.  Two  infantry  companies  from  Fort  Worth,  Cla- 
burn,  and  the  Dallas  Artillery  were  expected  to-day. 

There  were  twenty-five  fires  kept  burning  to  consume  dead 
bodies  in  the  debris  in  a  stretch  of  three  miles.  McGown  says 
information  was  received  at  the  Dallas  headquarters  of  the  Gulf, 
Colorado  and  Santa  Fe    Railroad  that  construction  tram. ^  wiih 


81S  GOVERNOR   REPORTS  TWELVE   THOUSAND    DEAD. 

materials  had  alread}^  crossed  the  bay  from  the  mainland  to  Gal- 
veston Island.  Local  Santa  Fe  officials  sa^^snpplies  and  bnilding 
materials  will  be  rnshed  to  the  island  rapidly  from  now  on.  Gal- 
veston now  has  railroad,  telegraph  and  telephone  connection  with 
the  ontside  world. 

A  special  correspondent  writing  from  Galveston  on  Septem- 
ber 19th,  said: 

''The  most  serions  problem  which  now  confronts  those  in 
anthority  here  is  the  disposition  of  the  dead  and  the  removal  of 
wreckage.  This  matter  is  being  attended  to  by  a  large  force 
scattered  through  the  city,  but  the  number  is  inadequate  to  meet 
the  requirements. 

EXHAUSTION   THINS  OUT  THE  WORKERS. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Auxiliary  Health  Board  to-day  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  suggest  to  Adjutant  General  Scnrr\',  in 
charge  of  cit}^  forces,  and  the  General  Relief  Committee,  the 
advisability  of  having  the  work  done  b3^  contract  and  importing 
men  to  do  it.  Reports  from  various  wards  where  men  have  been 
engaged  in  this  work  show  a  decrease  in  numerical  strength,  due 
to  exhaustion  and  other  causes.  In  some  instances  men  who  are 
skilled  mechanics  and  have  assisted  in  the  disposition  of  the  dead 
have  obtained  emploj-ment  at  their  regular  trades. 

*'  It  was  announced  this  evening  that  a  contract  Avill  be  let 
for  the  removal  of  bodies  and  the  huge  mass  of  debris,  which,  in 
some  parts  of  the  cit\',  reaches  a  height  of  fifteen  feet.  To  do  this, 
about  three  thousand  men  will  be  brought  here  from  the  interior. 
They  will  come  with  their  own  cooks  and  rations  and  camp  on 
the  beach,  and  will  be  paid  $2  a  da}^  It  is  estimated  that  it  will 
require  from  twenty  to  thirt}^  days  to  remove  the  wreckage. 

'^  Under  one  pile  of  debris  to-day  thirty  bodies  A\nere  found 
and  cremated.  Bodies  are  still  being  Avashed  ashore  at  Texas 
City,  Bolivar  Point,  Pelican  Island  and  other  coast  points  near 
Galveston.  There  is  no  time  to  dig  graves,  and  the  bodies  are 
hastily  consigned  to  the  flames. 

^'  The  city  is  still  under  martial  law,  and  guards  are  patrol- 


GOVERNOR   REPORTS  TWELVE  THOUSAND   DEAD.  ;il9 

ling  tlie  streets  day  and  niglit.  An  example  was  made  of  a  man 
arrested  for  selling  liquor.  The  offender  was  marched  to  general 
headquarters,  and,  after  a  severe  reprimand,  was  put  to  work  on 
the  street  gang,  removing  and  disposing  of  bodies.  He  will  serve 
without  pay  for  an  indefinite  period. 

"  All  hospital  relief  stations  and  all  points  in  the  city  are 
thoroughly  disinfected.  Dr.  Peckham,  of  the  United  States 
Marine  Corps,  has  established  a  camp  for  the  injured  and  ill  at 
Tremont  and  Seach  avenues.  Directly  opposite  is  a  camp  for 
refugees.  Camps  will  be  established  on  the  beach  at  the  foot  of 
Fifteenth  street. 

"Reports  from  Sealy  Hospital,  St.  Mary's  Infirmary  and 
other  temporar}^  hospitals  are  that  sanitary  rules  are  strictly  fol- 
lowed, and  the  buildings  are  in  fairly  good  shape.  A  great  many 
patients  from  vSealy  and  St.  Mary's  have  been  sent  to  Houston. 

SERIOUS  CASES  OF  INJURY. 

"In  the  vicinity  of  the  hospitals  there  is  a  mass  of  debris 
containing  many  bodies,  and  the  Health  Board  has  sent  an  urgent 
appeal  to  headquarters  to  have  this  debris  cleared. 

"  Emergency  hospitals  report  wounds  dressed  on  an  average 
of  150  to  200  a  day.      Many  report  serious  cases. 

"  A  census  has  been  taken  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic  parish, 
embracing  the  territory  from  Sixteenth  to  Twenty-seventh  street. 
It  shows  a  loss  of  267  from  this  parish  alone.  A  census  of  the 
cit}^  is  now  being  taken,  which  will  embrace  a  list  of  the  sur- 
vivors, the  dead  and  the  amount  of  personal  and  property  losses. 

"  Death  from  a  broken  heart  was  the  doctor's  verdict  when 
Miss  Clara  Olson  died  at  an  early  hour  this  morning.  When  the 
storm  was  at  its  height  the  little  house  Miss  Olson  occupied  with 
her  aged  mother  collapsed.  Mother  and  daughter  found  refuge 
on  a  floating  housetop  for  several  hours.  A  floating  timber  driven 
with  terrible  force  crushed  Mrs.  Olson's  skull.  The  girl  drifted 
to  the  Ursuline  convent,  where  she  was  cared  for  by  the  Sisters. 
She  grieved  constantly  for  her  mother,  and  at  last  died  of  a  broken 
heart" 


nr.O  GOVERNOR    REPORTS   TWELVE   THOUSAND    DEAD. 

Houston,  Tex.,  Sept.  20. — Official  reports  of  conditions  of 
interior  towns  have  begun  to  come  in  from  agents  stiit  ont  by 
Governor  Sayres.  Following  are  summaries  of  reports  so  far 
received  showing  the  conditions  of  half  a  dozen  towns  on  the  Santa 
Fe.  There  are  probably  fifty  small  towns,  which  are  in  just  as 
bad  shape  and  from  which  reports  have  not  been  received,  but 
which  are  being  supplied  with  provisions,  clothing,  and  drugs  from 
Houston  b}'  the  committees  : 

Pearland — Fifty  families  depending  on  Relief  Committee  ; 
some  supplies  received  but  assistance  in  other  wa3's  than  provi- 
sions needed.  Families  at  Erin  and  Superior  are  to  be  supplied 
through  Pearland. 

Algoa — Twent3"-five  families  to  be  supplied  ;  enough  provi- 
sions for  the  present. 

DESTRUCTION    IN  OUTLYING  DISTRICTS. 

Alvin — In  the  town  of  Alvin  and  vicinity  there  are  probabl}^ 
six  houses  on  blocks  out  of  a  total  of  1,000.  The  population  of 
Alvin  now  to  be  fed  is  about  1,500  ;  Manvel,  250  ;  Liverpool  and 
Amsterdam,  250  ;  Chocolate  and  Austin  Bayous,  Chigger  neigh- 
borhood, Dickinson  Bayou,  east  and  outside,  or  the  surrounding 
countr}^,  2,500,  making  a  to^al  of  5,000  persons  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Alvin  committee.  The  committee  admits  having  a 
sufficient  amount  of  clothing.  The}-  have  received  a  cash  sub- 
scription of  about  $2,000  and  have  spent  $400.  Have  received  tM^-o 
cars  of  flour  from  Dallas,  one  car  of  meal  from  Dallas,  one  car  of 
mixed  goods  from  T3^1er.  Along  the  bay  shore,  from  Virginia 
Point  to  Liverpool,  for  a  space  of  six  or  eight  miles  from  the  ba}^ 
front,  there  are  mau}^  thousands  of  dead  cattle  that  should  be 
■mmediatel}^  cremated  or  properl}^  looked  after. 

Arcadia — In  the  town  there  are  300  destitute,  and  those  in 
:he  immediate  vicinity  will  make  the  aggregate  500.  Provisions 
already  supplied  sufficient  for  immediate  needs  only. 

Hitchcock — In  this  town  and  immediate  vicinity  are  more 
than  500  destitute.  Of  about  300  houses,  only  about  ten  are 
standing.     A  wave  of  salt  water,  from  four  to  ten  feet  in  depth, 


GOVERNOR    REPORTS   TWELVE   THOUSAxNU    DEAD.  351 

covered  tliis  sectiou  ;  tliirt3''-eiglit  lives  were  lost,  and,  for  the 
time  being,  it  is  feared  that  the  soil  has  been  seriously  damaged 
by  the  effect  of  salt  water.  Supplies  of  provisions  were  sent 
yesterday.  There  are  probably  10,000  dead  cattle  within  a  space 
of  a  few  miles  south  and  surrounding  the  town,  and  every  house 
should  be  supplied  for  at  least  ten  days  with  disinfectants. 
Fev^er  is  now  settling  in  there,  and  Dr.  J.  T.  Scott,  of  Houston, 
went  there  yesterday.  An  idea  of  the  velocity  of  the  wind  and 
wave  of  salt  water  that  swept  over  this  immediate  section  ma}'  be 
imagined  when  it  is  known  that  the  Texas  City  dredge  boat  is 
now  lying  high  and  dry  in  a  garden  at  this  place,  a  distance  oi 
eight  miles  or  more  from  its  moorings. 

HOUSES  AND  OTHER  PROPERTY  GONE 

Alta  Loma — This  committee  reports  about  seventy- hve  fanri 
lies,  or  300  persons,  to  be  cared  for.  Have  received  5^,0  rations 
People  have  no  money  and  their  property  destroyed.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  100  houses  existed  ;  forty  destroyed  a^id  about 
twent}^  untenantable.  There  are  about  four  houses  now  ou 
.blocks.  Two  lives  were  lost.  The  population  is  mainly  ol 
northern  people.  A  shipment  was  made  them  of  provision r-  and 
medicines,  but  other  things  are  needed  at  once. 

Col.  B.  H.  Belo,  publisher  of  the  "Galveston  News,"  said 
that  Galveston  would  be  rebuilt  at  once. 

"The  storm  and  flood  taught  us  several  lessons,"  said  Col. 
Belo,  iu  an  interview.  "The  loss  of  life  would  have  been  com 
paratively  light  if  the  buildings  had  been  of  a  more  solid  char 
acter.  The  Ursuline  convent,  for  instance,  was  surrounded  b}-  3 
brick  wall,  and  there  was  no  loss  of  life  there,  although  it  stood 
right  in  the  path  of  the  flood  and  storm.  There  were  no  lives 
lost  in  the  'News'  office,  and  we  would  not  have  been  badly 
flooded  had  it  not  been  for  a  building  falling  and  battering  in  a 
part  of  our  wall. 

"  I  believe  that  all  buildings  will  be  of  a  more  solid  and 
enduring  character  than  formerly.  I  think,  too,  that  the  streets 
-along  the  water  front  will  l»e   built   higher  than  tlie}^  were.     The 


St>'2  CxOVERNOK    KKI'OKIS    TWEIA'K    THOUSAND    DEAD. 

city  must  be  rebuilt.  It  is  the  only  outlet  wortli}^  the  name  on 
the  Gulf  west  of  New  Orleans.  The  gover'-iment  spent  $6,000,000 
to  make  a  thirtj^^-foot  harbor  there,  and  the  shipping  is  so  exten- 
sive that  rebuilding  the  wrecked  portions  of  the  city  is  impera- 
tive." 

A  tale  of  self  sacrifice  co^nes  from  the  western  part  of  the  cit3\ 
A  3^oung  man  by  the  name  of  Wash  Masterson  heard  the  cries  of 
some  people  outside.  They  were  calling  for  a  rope.  He  had  no 
rope,  but  improvised  one  from  bed  sheets,  and  started  out  to  find  , 
the  people  who  were  calling.  The  wind  and  water  soon  tore  his' 
rope  to  shreds  and  he  had  to  returu  to  the  house,  where  he  made 
another  and  stronger  rope. 

THE   CRIES  OF  THE   PEOPLE. 

The  cries  of  the  people  still  filled  his  ears.  He  went  out  a 
second  time  and  after  being  gone  for  what  seemed  an  hour  or  more 
to  those  who  were  waiting  he  returned  with  the  people.  They  had 
clung  to  the  branches  of  a  salt  cedar  tree.  ]\Ir.  Masterson  was  not 
satisfied  with  that,  but  went  out  for  other  people  immediatel}^, 
the  water  having  begun  to  fall  about  that  time,  and  worked  all 
night. 

A  little  black  dog  stood  barking  over  a  sand  hill  in  the  west 
end  beyond  Woollam's  lake.  Those  who  endeavored  to  stop  his 
barking  by  driving  him  away  did  not  succeed  for  he  returned  as 
soon  as  they  ceased  their  attempts.  It  was  suggested  that  he  was 
guarding  a  body,  but  others  scouted  the  idea. 

Fiually  they  dug  beneath  the  spot  where  the  dog  stood,  and 
there  the}^  found  the  remains  of  a  young  girl  whom  they  identi- 
fied by  the  rings  she  wore  as  Miss  Lena  Everhart,  a  popular  little 
lad}^,  well  known  both  in  Galveston  and  Dallas.  This  whole 
famil}^,  with  the  exception  of  one  son,  Elmer  Everhart,  and  a' 
daughter,  Mrs.  Robert  Brown,  who  lives  near  Dickinson  and  was 
there  at  the  time,  was  lost.  The  father  ran  a  dairy  just  south- 
west of  Woollam's  lake. 

At  Twelfth  and  Seal}^  avenue  there  lived  a  colored  man  and 
his  wife.     There    was    a    grocer}^    ou    the    corner   and  tliose  who 


GOVERNOR    REPORTS    TWELVE   IHOUSA.NJ)    DEAD.  353 

weathered  the  storm  report  that  he  stood  near  the  beer  keg  in  the 

bar  room  of  the   grocery   drinking  steadily   until  he  was   swept 

away,  his  idea  evidently  being  to  destroy  consciousness  before  the 

storm  did  it  for  him.     His  body  was  picked  out  of  a  pile  of  debris 

between  Twelfth  and  Thirteenth  on  Sealy  avenue. 

The   Catholic  Orphans'  Home   on  the  beach  at  the  west  end 

of  the  city  went  some  time  after   5:30    o'clock  Saturday  evening. 

Mr.  Harry  Gray,  who  lived  in   Kinkead  subdivision,  just  beyond 

the  city  limits,  was  compelled  to  leave  his  house  at  that  hour  and 

says    the    home    was    standing   then.     Now   not   a  vestige    of  it 

remains.     Eight  nuns  and  all  but  one  of  ninety- five  children  were 

lost.     This  child,  a  little  tot,   was    found  on   the  north  side  of  the 

island  in  a  tree.      "  I'se  been  'seep,"  he  lisped.      "  My  head  was  in 

de  water." 

MR.  GRAY'S  STORY. 

Mr.  Gray's  story  is  interesting.  His  house  fell  and  he  fought 
his  way  out  with  a  wife  who  was  just  out  of  a  sick  bed.  He 
managed  to  get  to  the  next  house  with  her.  This  was  the  home 
of  Ed.  Hunter.  That  house  went  between  6.30  and  7,  and  the 
Hunter  family  was  lost.  Mr.  Gray  caught  a  transom,  put  the 
arm  of  his  wife  through  it,  and  soon  found  that  the  transom 
belonged  to  the  side  of  the  house,  about  20x20  feet  in  size.  It 
was  nothing  but  the  side  of  the  house  made  of  ordinary  siding 
and  studding.  He  swung  onto  this  and  even  now  does  not  under- 
stand how  it  stood'up  under  them. 

All  the  time  he  kept  telling  his  wife  to  hold  onto  him,  and 
this  she  did.  Along  in  the  night  the  raft  struck  a  tree  and  was 
swept  from  under  them.  Gray  caught  a  limb  with  his  wife  still 
clinging  to  him.  By  this  time  he  was  almost  completely  exhausted 
but  he  managed  by  a  hundred  successive  efforts  to  get  his  wife 
into  the  tree. 

A  little  later  a  colored   man  ;vas   seen  coming  through  the 

water.     Gray  called  to  him  to  take   to  the  lower  limbs  and  not 

come  higher,  for  he  was  afraid  the   tree  with   three  people  on  it 

would  be  made  top-heavy.     When  daylight  came  he  took  his  wife 

in  his  arms  and  told  the  negro  to  go  ahead  for  a  house  they  saw 
23 


854  GOVERNOR   REPORTS  TWELVE  THOUSAND  DEAD. 

in  the  distance,  for  had  there  been  any  holes  he  wanted  to  be 
advised  of  it  before  he  went  into  them  with  his  wife,  for  it  was  all 
he  could  do  to  push  through  the  water  in  his  exhausted  condition. 

After  working  until  lo  o'clock  he  reached  the  high  land  in 
the  Denver  resurvey  and  eventually  got  to  town.  Not  until  yes- 
terday had  he  sufficiently  recovered  from  his  exhaustion  to  come 
onto  the  streets.  He  is  cut  and  bruised  in  a  dozen  places.  He 
says  the  water  in  Kinkead  addition  was  ten  feet  deep. 

Robert  Park  and  a  party  of  men  came  in  from  Hitchcock 
Sunday,  arriving  that  evening.  They  started  in  a  skiff,  and 
finally  reached  a  prairie,  over  which  they  carried  the  boat.  Finally 
they  reached  water  again,  and  along  about  noon  went  alongside  the 
British  steamer  "  Roma,"  which  was  dragged  from  her  moorings 
in  the  roads  between  the  jetties,  about  seven  miles  up  the  channel 
and  landed  in  the  draw  of  the  county  bridge.  They  report  the 
steamer  in  good  condition.  They  got  water  and  food  there  and 
came  on  across. 

A    GRUESOME    SIGHT. 

Mr.  Park  says  twenty  people  arrived  at  Hitchcock  on  rafts 
from  Galveston  before  he  left.  These  had  been  carried  by  the 
storm  from  Galveston  to  Hitchcock,  a  distance  of  about  eighteen 
miles.  They  also  saw  a  pile  driven  from  the  Huntington  wharves 
high  on  the  prairie  far  beyond  Viginia  Point. 

A  gruesome  sight  passed  along  the  street  Monday  afteruGon. 
Workmen  in  digging  bodies  from  the  debris  found  one  of  a  hand- 
some man  with  dark  hair  and  mustache  and  dressed  in  a  light 
suit  of  clothes.  He  was  on  his  knees,  hi^  eyes  were  uplifted,  and 
his  clasped  hands  were  extended  as  in  pi'ayer.  It  was  evident  that 
the  man  had  been  praying  when  he  was  struck  and  instantly  killed. 
As  a  rule,  the  attitudes  of  those  who  were  found  were  with  hands 
,extended  up  as  if  endeavoring  to  save  themselves. 

The  destruction  of  the  Catholic  Orphans'  Home  and  the  loss 
of  seventy-five  lives  with  it  was  told  by  one  of  three  boys  who 
came  through  k  terrible  experience  by  dint  of  good  Providence 
and  nothing  else.     It  is  a  fact  that  three  boys  came  into  the  city 


GOVERNOR   REPORTS   TWELVE   THOUSAND    DEAD.  Sa-^ 

riom  there  who  had  passed  through  a  terrible  experience.  With 
these  three  and  one  reported  on  the  bay  shore  but  four  out  of  a 
total  of  seventy-eight  people  lived  to  tell  the  tale. 

According  to  the  story  all  the  children  were  gathered  with 
the  Sisters  and  the  two  workmen  in  the  chapel  on  the  ground 
floor  in  the  west  wing  of  the  building.  The  storm  was  raging 
terribly  outside  and  they  all  engaged  in  prayer.  The  east 
wing  finally  went  down  and  they  were  driven  from  the  chapel  to 
the  floor  above,  the  water  coming  in  and  threatening  to  drown 
them.  Some  clambered  out  on  the  roof  of  the  part  remaining, 
but  not  all.  Finally  along  about  8  o'clock — they  are  not  positive 
as  to  the  time  by  an  hour — the  remainder  of  the  building  went 
and  the  roof  went  into  the  water. 

DESTRUCTION    OF    CATHOLIC    ORPHANS'    HOME. 

What  became  of  the  others  nobody  can  say.  Campbell  only 
knows  that  he  got  out  from  the  building  somehow  and  caught  a 
piece  of  drift,  either  a  part  of  the  roof  or  something  of  the  sort. 
The  Murney  boy  broke  through  a  transom  and  got  out.  He 
drifted  for  some  time  and  finally  caught  a  tree  to  which  he  clung 
and  soon  found  that  the  two  other  boys  had  caught  the  same  tree. 
Prior  to  that  they  had  been  separated,  but  a  strange  fate  attracted 
them  to  the  same  place. 

This  tree,  it  developed  later,  had  caught  in  the  masts  of  the 
wreck  of  the  schooner  "John  S.  Ames,"  which  lies  almost  south  of 
the  home.  There  they  remained  all  night.  At  one  time  Camp- 
bell was  about  to  give  up  and  cried  that  he  was  drowning.  The 
Murney  boy  caught  him  and  lashed  him  to  the  mast  with  a  piece 
of  rope  that  he  found  there.     In  that  way  was  his  life  saved. 

When  morning  came  they  found  that  they  were  alone  in  the 
open  Gulf  on  a  tree.  The  tree  soon  broke  adrift  from  the  mast, 
and,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  brought  them  in  shore.  They 
finally  landed  and  started  west,  not  knowing  which  direction  to 
take.  They  finally  brought  up  at  a  house  something  like  two 
miles  from  the  place  where  the  home  had  been  but  so  recently' 
located.     There  they  found  their  location,  but  were  unable  to  get 


356  GOVERNOR    REPORTS   TWELVE   THOUSAND    DEAD. 

anything  to  eat  becanse  t"he   woman  in  tlie  house  "had  nothing 
herself. 

So  they  came  on  toward  the  city,  but  it  was  a  long,  hard  pull 
through  wet  sand,  and  hungry  and  faint  for  the  want  of  fresh 
water  and  food.  They  brought  up  at  a  house  that  had  gone 
through  the  storm,  was  partly  demolished  and  at  the  back  of 
which  was  another  house  siipporting  it.  There  they  remained 
during  Sunday  night,  and  were  afraid  every  minute  that  the  force 
of  the  little  blow  that  came  up  during  the  night  would  demolish 
the  place  of  refuge.  But  it  stood,  and  in  the  morning  they 
started  on,  reaching  the  home  of  young  Mumey  during  the  day. 
There  they  got  food  and  dry  clothes.  The  other  two  boys  were 
taken  to  the  infirmary,  where  they  are  being  cared  for. 

NEW   FEATURES  OF  THE  CALAMITY. 

Another  account  is  as  follows  and  contains  new  pictures  of 
the  scene  : 

The  elements,  which  had  been  cutting  up  didoes  and  blowing 
every  which  way  during  the  preceding  twenty-four  hours,  got 
down  to  it  in  earnest  fashion  Saturday  morning,  when  a  strong 
wind,  accompanied  by  rain,  which  first  came  in  great  splashing 
drops  which  one  could  almost  dodge,  but  afterwards  became  a 
hard,  driving  rain,  began  to  get  in  its  work. 

Along  the  bay  front  the  waves  rose  higher  and  higher  and 
tossed  about  the  small  craft  anchored  in  the  slips  like  cockle 
shells.  Striking  the  bulkheading  of  the  wharves  with  mighty 
force  the  waves  broke  into  clouds  of  spray,  which  leaped  over  the 
wharves  and  drenched  the  men  whom  duty  or  curiosity  caused  to 
be  in  that  neighborhood. 

Although  the  wind  was  in  the  north,  a  heavy  sea  was  run- 
ning and  the  breakers  rolled  up  the  beach  with  angry  roars.  The 
little  bath  houses  on  wheels  scattered  along  the  beach  were  picked 
up  by  the  great  waves  and  dashed  against  the  row  of  little,  flimsy 
structures  along  the  Midway  and  piled  up  against  them  in  uneven 
stacks.  Early  in  the  forenoon  the  Midway  presented  a  picture 
almost  of  desolation,  filled  as  it  was  with   debris  from  the  small 


GOVERNOR   REPORtS   TWELVE  THOUSAND    DEAD.  357 

platforms,  stairways  and  landings  along  tlie  beach,  front,  wliicli 
had  been  carried  away  and  washed  up  by  the  sea.  At  times  the 
waves  would  recede,  leaving  the  beach  almost  bare  of  water,  and 
then,  as  if  gathering  force  anew  they  would  sweep  in,  rolling 
several  feet  high,  passing  over  the  shelving  beach,  lapping  over 
tracks  of  the  street  railway  and  gushing  the  water  into  avenue  R. 
Early  in  the  forenoon  the  waves  were  leaping  at  times  over 
the  trestle  work  of  the  street  railway  along  the  beach  front, 
making  it  impossible  to  operate  the  cars  around  the  belt,  as  the 
water  would  have  burned  out  the  motors.  The  cars  were  therefore 
operated  between  town  and  the  Gulf  on  the  double  tracks  of  either 
side  of  the  belt  line.  A  little  later  in  the  forenoon  the  waves  under- 
mined the  track  at  Twenty-fourth  street  and  avenue  R.  They 
washed  under  the  little  Midway  houses  on  the  south  side  of 
avenue  R,  which  were  built  on  piling,  and  in  places  carried  away 
the  sidewalks   in   front  of  the   buildings,   which   were    not  thus 

supported. 

THE  ANGER  OF  THE  SEA. 

The  platform  which  supported  the  photograph  gallery  at  the 
Pagoda  bath  house  was  washed  away.  This  was  not  a  part  of 
the  original  structure,  and  was  not  as  strongly  built  as  the 
remainder  of  the  bath  house.  The  bath  house  proper  and  its 
pier,  extending  out  to  sea,  were  not  at  that  time  (Saturday  noon) 
disturbed  by  the  waves,  although  the  high  rollers  at  times  dashed 
so  near  the  flooring  of  this  and  the  other  bath  houses  that  it 
looked  like  a  rise  of  a  few  inches  would  punch  up  the  flooring. 

The  scene  at  the  beach  was  grand.  The  sea  in  its  anger 
was  a  sight  beautiful,  though  awe-inspiring,  to  behold.  Notwith- 
standing the  wind  and  the  driving  rain,  thousands  of  people  went 
to  the  beach  to  behold  the  maddened  sea,  and  the  street  cars  were 
kept  quite  busy.  Down  town,  during  the  early  morning,  when 
the  rain  was  not  so  heavy,  there  seemed  no  apparent  necessity  for 
getting  into  rainy  day  garb  vo  make  this  trip  to  the  beach,  and 
many  people  went  out  in  their  best  bibs  and  tuckers,  to  their 
sorrow.  Well  dressed  men  and  women  disembarked  from  the 
cars   at   the   beach   and   picked  their  way  amid  swirling  pools  of 


358  GOVERNOR   REPORTS  TWELVE   THOUSAND    DEAD. 

water  and  the  spent  waves  to  get  into  midway  and  to  pass  along 
to  places  w^here  a  good  view  of  tlie  sea  might  be  obtained. 

For  a  few  minutes  they  succeeded  in  keeping  feet  and  bodies 
reasonably  dry,  but  using  umbrellas  counted  for  naught,  and 
were  soon  turned  wrong  side  out  or  ripped  into  ribbons,  and  their 
owners  getting  partially  wet,  abandoned  themselves  to  the  inevit- 
able and  went  around  seeing  the  sights,  caring  not  for  the 
weather,  nor  worrying  about  their  good  duds.  Some  people,  with 
abundant  foresight,  appeared  on  the  scene  in  bathing  suits,  and, 
of  course,  they  were  right  in  it  from  the  jump. 

At  Twenty-fifth  street  the  big  waves  rolled  up  the  shelving 
beach,  crossed  the  street  railway  tracks,  leaving  the  water 
impounded  behind  the  embankment.  These  waters  backed  up  in 
the  ditches  and  the  low  places  of  the  street  as  far  as  avenue  N, 
and  the  supply  being  ever  replenished,  both  from  the  sea  and 
from   the    clouds,   there    was    no    opportunity   for   this  water   to 

run  off, 

IMPOSSIBLE    TO    NAVIGATE. 

The  shell  man  and  others  of  the  Midway  folk  moved  their 
stocks  out  during  the  morning  to  be  on  the  safe  side,  but  others, 
who  have  long  been  acquainted  with  the  sea  and  who  were  less 
timorous,  stayed  by  their  places  and  kept  their  goods  and  chattels 
there. 

At  that  hour  the  water  was  on  a  level  with  the  wharf  at  pier 
23,  and  was  rapidly  rising.  Later  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
navigate  along  the  wharf  front  on  account  of  the  deep  water  and 
the  high  wind.  Of  course,  it  was  wholly  out  of  the  question  for 
any  vessels  to  move  for  any  purpose,  and  equally  impossible  for 
steamers  to  make  an  entry  into  the  harbor.  The  pilot  boat  would 
not  have  been  able  to  get  alongside,  and  if  any  vessel  approached 
the  harbor  she  would  have  to  put  to  sea  for  fear  of  grounding  if 
she  came  too  close.     Several  vessels  are  due. 

No  attempt  at  doing  any  business  was  made  after  noon,  for  it 
was  equally  out  of  the  question  to  load  steamers  as  it  was  to  move 
them.  If  damage  was  done  it  was  the  result  of  pounding.  Some 
cement  stored  on  the  pier  head  was  damaged  by  the  water  washing 


GOVERNOR    REPORTS   TWELVE   THOUSAND   DEAD.  359 

Up  uuder  it  in  tlie  morning,  and  as  it  was  not  practicable  to  move 
it,  it  is  a  total  loss. 

While  working  witli  a  gang  of  men  clearing  the  wreckage  of 
a  large  number  of  houses  on  avenue  O  and  Center  street,  Mr. 
John  Vance  found  a  live  prairie  dog  locked  in  the  drawer  of  a 
bureau.  It  is  impossible  to  identify  the  house  or  the  name  of  its 
former  occupant,  as  several  houses  were  piled  together  in  a  mass 
of  brick  and  timber.  The  bureau  was  pulled  out  of  the  wreckacre 
a  few  feet  from  the  ground,  where  it  had  been  buried  beneath 
about  ten  feet  of  debris.  The  little  animal  seemed  none  the  worse 
from  its  experience  of  four  days  locked  up  in  a  drawer  beneath  a 
mountain  of  wreckage.  It  was  taken  home  and  fed  by  Mr.  Yance, 
who  will  hold  the  pet  for  its  owner  if  the  owner  survived  the 
storm. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

An  [sland  of  Desolation — Crumbling  Walls — Faces  White 

With     Agony — Tales    of  Dismay    and 

Death — Curious   Sights. 

/^NB  of  tlie  most  graphic  and  thrilling  accounts   of  the  over- 
-—^     whelming  calamity  is  contained  in  the  following  pages.     It 
is  from  the  brilliant  pen  of  a  visitor  to  the    city  and  eye-witness 
of  the  awful  ruin  : 

The  story  of  Galveston's  tragedy  can  never  be  written  as  it 
is.  Since  the  cataclysm  of  Saturday  night,  a  force  of  faithful 
men  have  been  struggling  to  convey  to  humanity  from  time  to 
time  some  of  the  particulars  of  the  tragedy.  They  have  told 
much,  but  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  tell  all,  and  the  world,  at 
best,  can  never  know  all,  for  the  thousands  of  tragedies  written  by 
the  storm  must  forever  remain  mysteries  until  eternity  shall 
reveal  all.  Perhaps  it  were  best  that  it  should  be  so,  for  the  hor- 
ror and  anguish  of  those  fatal  and  fateful  hours  were  mercifully 
lost  in  the  screaming  tempest  and  buried  forever  beneath  the  rag- 
ing billows.  Only  God  knows,  and  for  the  rest  let  it  remain  for- 
ever in  the  boundlessness  of  His  omniscience.  But  in  the  realm 
of  finity,  the  weak  and  staggered  senses  of  mankind  may  gather 
fragments  of  the  disaster,  and  may  strive  with  inevitable  incom- 
pleteness to  convey  the  merest  impression  of  the  saddest  story 
which  ever  engaged  the  efforts  of  a  reporter. 

Galveston  !  The  mournful  dirges  of  the  breakers  which  lash 
the  beach  can  not  in  the  remaining  centuries  of  the  world  give 
expression  to  the  sorrow  and  woe  which  throbs  here  to-day  ;  and 
if  the  sobbing  waves  and  sighing  winds,  God's  great  funeral 
choir,  fail,  how  can  the  weak  pen  and  appalled  imaginations  of 
men  perform  the  task  ?  The  human  heart  can  merely  feel  what 
language  will  never  be  able  to  express.  And  in  the  case  of  Gal- 
veston, the  heart  must  break  before  it  can  begin  to  feel. 

I  struggled  all  ^.ay  Tuesday  to  reach  this  isle  of  desolation, 
360 


AN    ISLAND    OF    DESOLATION.  361 

With  Gen.  McKibben,  Gen.  Scurry,  Gen.  Stoddard  and  several 
who  had  relatives  here  about  whom  they  were  anxious,  I  spent 
five  hours  on  the  bay  in  a  row  boat,  kindly  loaned  by  the  captain 
of  the  "Kendel  Castle,"  a  British  steamship  hopelessly  stranded  at 
Texas  City,  but  finally  we  lauded  on  the  island  just  as  the  stars 
were  coming  out. 

The  very  atmosphere  smelt  of  death,  and  we  walked  through 
the  quiet  streets  to  the  Tremont  Hotel.  Long  before  we  landed 
we  had  seen  the  naked  forms  of  men,  women  and  children  float- 
ing in  the  bay  and  were  depressed  until  the  entire  party  was 
heartsick. 

Men  were  grouped  about  the  streets  talking  in  quiet  tones. 
Sad  and  hopeless  women  could  be  seen  in  dismantled  houses, 
destitute  children  were  about  the  streets,  and  all  about  them  was 
nothing  but  wreck  and  ruin.  Night  had  drawn  a  gray  pall  over 
the  city  and  for  awhile  the  autumn  moon  covered  her  face  with 
dark  clouds  to  hide  the  place  with  shadows.  The  town  was  under 
martial  law,  every  saloon  was  closed,  and  passers-by  were  required 
to  give  an  account  of  themselves  before  being  allowed  to  proceed. 
The  fact,  however,  that  the  streets  were  almost  impassable  on 
account  of  the  debris  kept  us  reminded  that  we  were  in  the  midst 
of  unprecedented  desolation. 

REVEALED    A    SCENE. 

Wednesday  the  sun  drew  aside  the  curtains  of  darkness  and 
revealed  a  scene  that  is  impossible  of  description.  I  spent  hours 
driving  or  riding  about  the  city,  and  witnessed  the  saddest  spec- 
tacles ever  seen  by  human  eyes.  What  were  once  Galveston's 
splendid  business  thoroughfares  were  wrecked  and  crumbled. 
The  Strand,  known  to  every  business  man  of  the  State,  was  lined 
on  both  sides  with  crumbling  walls  and  wrenched  buildings,  and 
the  street  was  a  mass  of  debris,  such  as  metal  roofs  rolled  up  like 
a  scroll,  splintered  timbers,  iron  pillars,  broken  stone  and  bricks  ; 
the  same  was  true  of  Mechanic,  and  Market,  and  Tremont,  and 
Twent37^-first  and  Twenty-second,  and  every  other  street  of  the 
great  business  heart  of  Galveston. 


362  AN    ISLAND   OF   DESOLATION. 

The  stores  were  ruined  and  deserted,  and  the  blight  of 
desti  notion  was  visible  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  As  horrible 
as  all  this  was,  it  was  as  nothing  to  the  hopeless  faces  of  the 
miserable  men,  women  and  children  in  the  streets. 

I  will  not  undertake  to  describe  them,  but  as  long  as  I  live  I 
will  never  forgot  them.  Many  I  knew  personall}^,  and  these  gave 
greeting,  but  God,  it  was  nothing  but  a  handshake  and  tears.  It 
seems  that  everybody  I  had  ever  known  here  had  lost  somebody. 
The  tears  in  their  eyes,  the  quiver  of  their  voices,  the  trembling  of 
lips  !  The  brand  of  agony  was  upon  their  faces  and  despair  was 
written  across  their  hearts.  I  would  plunge  a  dagger  through  my 
heart  before  I  would  endure  this  experience  again. 

The  readers  of  this  must  pardon  the  personal  nature  of  this 
narrative.  It  is  impossible  to  write  without  becoming  a  part  of 
the  story  this  time.  I  met  Elma  Everhart,  formerly  a  Dallas  boy. 
I  had  known  him  from  childhood,  and  all  his  people.  Indeed,  I 
had  once  been  an  inmate  of  their  home  in  Oakcliff.  I  hardly  knew 
him  when  he  stopped  me,  he  had  grown  so  much.  He  said : 
"  Katy  and  her  baby  are  at  Dickinson.  That  town  was  destroyed, 
but  they  are  alive.     I  am  going  there  and  leave  Galveston  forever." 

A  TERRIBLE  FATE. 

I  knew  he  had  woe  in  his  heart,  and  I  queried. 

"lam  the  only  one  left,"  he  answered.  "  Papa,  mamma, 
Lena  and  Guy — they  are  all  gone." 

I  remember  the  last  time  I  saw  this  family  before  they  left 
Dallas.  I  remember  Lena,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  children  I 
ever  saw.  I  recall  her  beautiful  eyes  and  long,  dark  curls,  and  I 
remember  when  she  kissed  me  good-bye  and  joyously  told  me  she 
was  coming  to  Galveston  to  live  !     And  this  was  her  fate. 

With  all  my  old  fondness  forthe  ocean,  recallinghowl  havelain 
upon  the  sand  hour  after  hour,  looking  at  its  distant  sails  and  lis- 
tening to  its  mysterious  voices,  recalling  happy  moments  too 
sacred  for  expression,  when  I  think  of  that  sweet  child  as  one  of 
its  victims,  I  shall  hate  the  sea  forever. 

And  yet,  v/hat  can  this  grief  of  mine  amount  to  in  the  pres- 


AN    ISLAND   OF    DESOLATION.  36g 

ence  of  tlie  agouy  of  the  thousands  who  loved  the  5000  souls  who 
took  leave  of  life  amid  the  wild  surging  waters  and  pitileSv^>  tem- 
pest of  last  Saturday  night  ? 

After  surveying  the  dismantled  business  section  of  the  city, 
a  cabman  made  his  tortuous  way  through  the  residence  sections. 
It  was  a  slow  journey,  for  the  streets  were  jammed  with  houses, 
furniture,  cooking  utensils,  bedding,  clothing,  carpets,  window 
frames,  and  everything  imaginable,  to  say  nothing  of  the  numer- 
ous carcasses  of  the  poor  horses,  cows  and  other  domestic  animals. 

HOUSES  COMPLETELY  CAPSIZED. 

Some  of  the  houses  were  completely  capsized,  some  were  flat 
upon  the  ground  with  not  one  timber  remaining  upon  another, 
others  were  unroofed,  some  were  twisted  into  the  most  fantastic 
shapes,  and  there  were  still  others  with  walls  intact,  but  which 
had  been  stripped  of  everything  in  the  way  of  furniture.  It  is  not 
an  uncommon  thing  for  the  wind  at  high  velocity  to  perform 
miraculous  things,  but  this  blast,  which  came  at  the  rate  of  120 
miles  an  hour,  repeated  all  the  tricks  the  wdnd  has  ever  enacted, 
and  gave  countless  new  manifestations  of  its  mysterious  power. 
It  were  idle  to  undertake  to  tell  the  curious  things  to  be  seen  in 
the  desolate  residence  streets  ;  how  the  trees  were  uprooted  and 
driven  through  houses  ;  how  telegraph  poles  were  driven  under 
car  tracks  ;  how  pianos  were  transferred  from  one  house  to 
another." 

More  ominous  than  all  this  were  the  vast  piles  of  debris,  from 
which  emanated  odors  which  told  of  dead  victims  beneath,  men, 
women  and  children,  whose  silent  lips  will  never  reveal  the  agony 
from  which  death  alone  released  them. 

More  sorrowful  still  the  tear-stained  faces  of  the  women,  half- 
clad,  who  looked  listlessly  from  the  windows,  haunted  by  mem- 
ories from  which  they  can  never  escape — the  loss  of  babies  torn 
from  their  breasts  and  hurled  into  a  maelstrom  of  destruction,  to 
be  seen  no  more  forever. 

What  were  those  dismantled  homes  to  the  dismantled  hearts 
within  ?     How  can  it  be  described  ?     Will   the   world  ever  know 


364  AN    ISLAND   OF    DESOLATION. 

the  real  dimensious  of  tlie  disastei  whicli  cruslied  ualveston  Htiu 
left  lier  broken  and  disconsolate  like  a  wounded  bird  fluttering  on 
the  white  sands  of  the  ocean  ? 

And  the  beach  ?  That  once  beautiful  beach,  with  its  long 
stretches  of  white  sand — what  has  become  of  that  ?  Misshapen, 
distorted,  blotched  and  drabbled  and  crimsoned,  it  spread  away  to 
the  horizons  of  the  east  and  west,  its  ugly  scars  rendered  more 
hideous  by  the  glinting  rays  of  the  sun.  Part  of  it  had  disap' 
peared  under  the  purling  waters.  Far  out  here  and  there  could 
be  seen  the  piling,  where  once  rested  the  places  of  amusement. 

The  waves  were  lashing  the  lawns  which  once  stretched 
before  palatial  homes.  And  the  pools  along  the  shore  were  stink- 
ing with  the  remains  of  ill-fated  dogs,  cats,  chickens,  birds, 
horses,  cows  and  fish.  Shoreward,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
were  massive  piles  of  houses  and  timbers,  all  shattered  and  torn. 

A  cloud  of  smoke  was  noticed,  and  driving  to  the  scene,  we 

found  a  large  number  of  men  feeding  the  flames  with  the  timbers 

of  the  wrecked  homes  which  once  gave  such  a  charm  to  Galveston 

beach 

BURNING  looo  HUMAN   BODIES. 

And  why  the  fire  ?  The  men  were  burning  looo  human 
bodies  cast  up  by  the  sea,  and  the  fuel  was  the  timber  of  the 
homes  which  the  poor  victims  once  occupied  !  And  yet  this 
awful  spectacle  was  but  a  fragment  of  the  murderous  work  of  the 
greatest  storm  which  has  swept  the  ocean's  shore  for  a  century  ! 

There  were  dozens  of  piles  of  sand  in  every  direction  along 
that  mutilated  shore.  And  men  were  noticed  in  the  distance 
shoveling  these  uncanny  mounds. 

We  saw  what  they  were  doing.  The  bodies  brought  in  by 
the  tide  were  being  buried  deep  in  the  sand.  Driving  beyond  the 
grave  diggers  we  saw  prostrate  on  the  sand  the  stark  and  swollen 
forms  of  women  and  children  and  floating  farther  out  in  the  tide 
,vere  other  bodies  soon  to  be  brought  in  to  be  buried.  The  waves 
were  only  the  hearses  bringing  in  the  dead  to  be  buried  in  the  sand 
along  the  shore.  It  is  the  contemplation  of  such  scenes  as  thes^ 
hat  staggers  consciousness  and  stings  the  human  soul 


t , 


AN    ISLAND   OF   DESOLATION.  365 

They  told  niewitli  sad  humor  that  what  I  had  seen  was  as  noth- 
ing to  what  I  could  have  seen  had  I  been  here  Sunday  and  Monday 
mornings.  I  am  glad,  then,  that  I  did  not  come  sooner,  and  I  am 
sorry  that  I  ever  came  at  all.  What  I  have  seen  has  been  suffi- 
cient to  make  me  miserable  to  the  longest  day  of  my  life,  and  what 
I  have  heard  that  I  could  not  see  and  could  not  have  seen  had  I 
been  in  the  storm,  will  haunt  me  by  day  and  night  as  long  as  T^y^ 
senses  remain. 

I  am  telling  an  incident  repeated  to  me  by  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  distinguished  citizens  of  Galveston.  On  Monday 
seven  hundred  bodies  had  been  gathered  in  one  house  near  the 
bay  shore.  Recognition  of  a  single  one  was  impossible.  The 
bodies  were  swollen  and  decomposition  was  setting  in  rapidly. 
Indeed,  the  odor  of  death  was  on  the  air  for  blocks.  What  dispo- 
sition should  be  made  of  this  horrifying  mass  of  human  flesh  was 
an  imminent  problem. 

IMPOSSIBLE  TO  DISPOSE  OF  THE  DEAD. 

While  the  matter  was  under  discussion,  the  committee  was 
informed  that  there  was  no  time  to  waste  in  deliberation,  that  some 
of  the  bodies  were  already  bursting.  It  was  impossible  to  bury 
them,  and  they  could  not  be  incinerated  in  that  portion  of  the  city 
without  endangering  more  life  and  more  property,  as  there  was  no 
water  to  exting'uish  a  fire  once  started.  It  was  decided  to  load  the 
bodies  on  a  barge,  tow  it  out  to  sea  and  sink  them  with  weights 
That  was  the  only  thing  to  be  done. 

Men  were  called  to  perform  this  awful  duty,  but  they  quailed 
at  the  task.  And  who  could  blame  them  ?  They  were  told  that 
quick  action  was  necessary,  or  a  pestilence  might  come  and  sweep 
off  the  balance  of  the  living.  Still  they  were  immovable.  It 
was  no  time  for  dallying. 

A  company  of  men  with  rifles  at  fixed  bayonets  were  brought 
to  the  scene,  and  a  force  of  men  were  compelled,  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet,  to  perform  this  sad,  sad  duty.  One  by  one  the  dead 
were  removed  to  the  barge,  everybody  as  naked  as  it  had  come 
into  the  world — men,  women   and   children,  black  and  white,  all 


366  .  AN    ISLAND   OF   DESOLATION. 

classes  of  societ}^  and  station  and  condition,  were  represented  in 
tiiat  putrid  mass.  The  unwilling  men  who  were  performing  this 
awful  task  were  compelled  to  bind  cloths  about  their  nostrils 
while  they  were  at  work,  and  occasionally  citizens  passed  whiskey 
among  them  to  nerve  them  to  their  duty. 

Who  can  conceive  of  the  horror  of  this  ? 

After  awhile  the  seven  hundred  dead  were  piled  upon  the 
barge  and  a  tug  pulled  them  slowly  out  to  sea.  Eighteen  miles 
out,  where  the  sea  was  rolling  high,  amid  the  soughing  white  caps, 
with  God's  benediction  breathed  in  the  moaning  winds,  all  that 
was  mortal  of  these  seven  hundred  was  consigned  to  the  mystic 
caves  of  the  deep. 

And  yet,  this  was  but  another  incident  of  the  sad  tragedy  of 
which  we  write. 

STORIES    OF    SORROW. 

George  H.  Walker,  of  San  Antonio,  known  well  in  theatrical 
circles,  was  a  member  of  the  party  which  struggled  all  day  Tues- 
day to  get  to  Galveston,  and  he  landed  late  at  night.  It  was  an 
anxious  day  for  him,  for  this  was  the  city  of  his  birth  and  before 
the  storm  he  had  six  brothers  and  five  sisters  living  here,  in  addi- 
tion to  his  son,  an  aunt  and  his  mother-in-law. 

He  found  his  son  safe  and  many  other  members  of  his  family. 
They  told  him  how  the  bo}'-.  Earl,  a  lad  of  15,  had  at  the  height  of 
the  tempest  placed  his  grandmother,  Mrs.  C.  S.  Johnson,  on  the 
roof  of  the  house  after  it  was  floating  in  the  current,  and  had  made 
a  second  trip  to  bring  his  aunt  to  the  roof.  When  the  lad  returned 
the  grandmother  was  gone,  finding  in  the  raging  current  her  final 
peace.  The  boy  and  his  aunt,  another  Mrs.  Johnson,  clung  to  the 
roof  throughout  and  successfully  weathered  the  gale. 

George  Walker  found  later  on,  however,  that  his  brother  Joe, 
and  his  stepbrother,  Nick  Donley,  had  been  swept  away  to  feed 
the  fury  of  the  storm. 

I  met  W.  R.  Knight,  of  Dallas,  who  arrived  yesterday  at 
noon.  He  told  me  that  he  had  found  his  mother,  two  unmarried 
sisters  and  married  a  sister,  Mrs.  E.  Webster,  safe.     But  he,  too, 


AN    ISLAND    OF   DESOLATION.  867 

had  liis  sorrow.  A  sister,  Mrs.  Ida  Tootliaker,  and  lier  daughter 
Etta,  were  lost,  and  his  brother-in-law,  B.  Webster,  Sr.,  and  five 
children,  Charley,  George,  Kenneth,  Julia  and  Sarah,  had  joined 
the  other  two  loved  ones  on  the  bosom  of  the  unresting  sea. 

How  many  stories  of  sorrow  like  this  that  remain  to  be  told 
cannot  now  be  numbered.  The  anxious  people  who  have  been 
straggling  into  Galveston  from  a  distance  have  usually  found 
some  dear  relative  or  many  of  them  missing  and  numbered  among 
the  thousands  who  became  in  a  few  brief  hours  the  victims  of  the 
remorseless  furies. 

It  is  with  reluctance  that  I  relate  one  case  that  came  under 
my  own  observation.  It  was  so  horrible  that  perhaps  it  ought  not 
to  be  told  at  all,  but  only  such  instances  can  convey  a  faint  idea  of 
the  horror  of  the  Galveston  disaster.  While  rowing  near  the  Hunt- 
ington wharves  the  naked  upturned  body  of  an  unfortunate  woman 
was  observed  floating  in  the  water,  with  a  half-born  infant  plainly 
in  view. 

MASSACRE    OF    THE    LIVING. 

Mr.  L.  H.  Lewis,  of  Dallas,  arrived  yesterday  looking  for  his 
son,  George  Cabell  Lewis,  who  was  found  alive  and  well.  Mr. 
Lewis  said  :  "I  helped  to  bury  sixteen  at  Texas  City  last  (Tues- 
day) night — all  Galveston  victims.  They  buried  fifty-eight  there 
Tuesday.  Coming  down  Buffalo  ba3'ou  I  saw  numberless  legs 
and  arms,  mostly  of  women  and  children,  protruding  from  the 
muck.  I  believe  there  are  hundreds  of  women  and  children  near 
the  mouth  of  the  bayou.  As  soon  as  men  can  be  found  to  do  the 
work  these  poor  victims  should  be  looked  after.  Unquestionably 
most  of  them  were  from  Galveston  Island.  Among  other  things 
I  saw  were  tombstones  with  inscriptions  in  German  and  rusty 
caskets  which  had  been  beached  b}^  the  waves." 

The  cruel  elements  were  not  content  to  massacre  the  living, 
but  had  to  invade  the  silent  homes  of  the  unoffending  dead. 

No  man  has  been  busier  comforting  the  grief-stricken  people 
of  Galveston  than  Dr.  R.  C.  Buckner  of  the  Buckner  Orphan  Home 
in  Dallas  count}-.     He  leaves  Thursday  morning  for  his  institu- 


868  .  AN    ISLAND   OF   DESOLATION. 

tion  witli  tlie  homeless  orplians  of  the  Galveston  Orphans'  Home, 
which  was  wrecked  b}^  the  storm.  He  has  others  besides  these, 
and  altogether  he  will  take  one  hnndred  home  with  him. 

What  a  grand  old  man  Dr.  Bnchner  is  !  I  will  take  off  my 
hat  to  him  any  day  in  the  week.  I  have  known  him  for  years  and 
there  is  not  a  nobler  character  alive.  I  saw  him  at  Sherman  when 
that  city  was  ravished  by  a  C3^clone  several  years  ago.  He  was 
there  looking  for  orphans,  and  I  know  that  he  has  always  been 
quick  to  reach  the  scene  of  disaster  and  death.  He  got  here 
Tuesday  afternoon  and  lost  no  time  in  reaching  his  part  of  the 
work,  and  heaven  knows  there  was  none  more  important  than 
that  to  which  he  assigned  himself 

RESCUING  DESTITUTE  CHILDREN. 

But  the  people  of  Texas  ought  to  know  what  he  has  done. 
They  have  always  loved  the  Buckner  home.  They  know  what  it 
has  done  in  the  way  of  rescuing  destitute  children.  They 
know  that  hundreds  of  good  men  and  women  of  the  State  have 
come  from  that  institution — men  and  women  who  have  become 
successful  in  life  and  who  honor  the  State  and  the  home  by  their 
useful  and  upright  lives.  But  Texas  will  have  greater  cause  than 
ever  to  love  and  revere  Dr.  Buckner  and  his  institution  when  it  is 
known  that  he  has  added  to  his  family  a  hundred  hapless  victims 
of  the  Galveston  storm,  making  in  all  400  in  his  entire  family. 
The  heart  of  this  State  is  throbbing  here  now,  and  whoever  ren- 
ders a  good  service  to  Galveston  will  be  honored  by  the  State. 

If  the  people  of  the  State  and  the  outside  world  can  not  grasp 
the  full  measure  of  the  Galveston  horror,  neither  can  the  people 
of  Galveston  themselves.  The  town  is  dazed,  and  self-contained 
people  are  hard  to  find.  There  is  a  well-organized  Citizens'  Com- 
mittee at  work  in  a  consecutive  and  business  manner,  but  the  work 
before  it  is  beyond  the  ability  or  power  of  any  committee. 

It  will  be  some  time  before  thousands  will  know  the  real 
nature  of  the  disaster  which  has  overtaken  them,  and  the  world 
will  never  know  it  all.  Men  and  women  walk  the  streets  and  tell 
each  other  experiences  and  weep  together  as  gradually  the  stories 


AN    ISLAND    OF    DESOLATION.  36?> 

of  loss  come  out.  They  are  hysterical,  half  crazy,  paralj^zed  and 
utterly  dejected.  There  has  been  so  such  death  and  so  much  ruin 
that  they  don't  know  which  way  to  turn  or  what  to  do. 

There  has  been  much  complaint  on  the  part  of  visitors  that 
the  men  don't  go  to  work  and  help  clear  the  debris  from  the 
streets.  This  job  alone  would  give  three  thousand  men  a  month's 
hard  work.  But  a  man  can't  work  when  he  has  before  him  the 
vision  of  his  loved  ones  hurled  to  death  in  an  instant  and  thinks 
of  what  has  happened. 

A  man  who  lost  a  wife  and  children,  no  matter  how  strong  he 
may  be,  can't  get  his  mind  on  the  necessities  of  this  town  when 
he  thinks  of  his  family  among  the  seven  hundred  sunk  in  the  sea 
last  Monday  or  the  thousand  burned  in  trenches  on  the  beach 
yesterday.  If  he  does  not  become  a  maniac  or  does  not  commit 
suicide  it  is  a  wonder,  if  one  will  stop  to  think  of  it  for  a  minute. 

SHATTERED    LIVES. 

They  will  come  around  after  a  while  and  will  do  their  part. 
Thousands  of  them  have  not  slept  since  last  Friday  night  and 
may  not  sleep  for  a  week  to  come.  Pity  them,  for  God  knows  their 
shattered  lives  are  enough  to  drive  almost  any  of  us  insane  if  we 
should  stop  to  think. 

J.  W.  Maxwell,  general  superintendent  of  the  Missouri, 
Kansas  and  Texas  Railway  ;  J.  W.  Allen,  general  freight  man- 
ager of  the  same  road,  and  Major  G.  W.  Foster,  of  the  Soutli- 
westeru  Telegraph  and  Telephone  Company,  got  in  yesterday 
from  Texas  City.  Coming  across  the  bay,  Mr.  Maxwell  said,  not 
less  than  300  bodies  were  seen  floating  in  the  water,  and  many 
more  were  being  buried  on  the  mainland  shore.  This  proves 
what  many  have  contended  from  the  first,  that  the  casualties 
from  the  beginning  have  been  understated.  Under  the  debris  of 
wrecked  houses  all  over  the  city  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
there  are  hundreds  of  bodies,  and  these  must  be  disposed  of  as 
early  as  possible.  In  the  rafts  of  the  bay  there  are  yet  many 
bodies  which  must  be  looked  for. 

It  will  never  be  possible  to  get  the  names  of  all  who  are  lost, 
24 


870  AN    ISLAND   OF    DESOLATION. 

but  every  day  makes  the  list  more  definite.  It  will  never  be 
possible  to  get  an  accurate  estimate  of  victims.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  more  than  3000  bodies  have  been  seen  so  far,  and  the  Gulf 
and  bay  and  the  debris  of  the  city  will  unquestionably  bring 
many  more  to  view.  If  Mr.  Lewis,  of  Dallas,  has  not  over- 
estimated the  number  he  observed  in  Buffalo  bayou,  thaj:  stream 
may  largely  swell  the  total.  How  many  have  been  buried 
beneath  the  shifting  sand  of  the  beach,  will  probably  remain  a 
secret  forever. 

It  is  touching  to  witness  the  sympathy  of  the  nation  with 
Galveston.  As  the  means  of  communication  are  improved,  the 
people  here  are  getting  a  definite  idea  of  what  it  means  to  stir  the 
sympathies  of  mankind.  It  seems  that  the  country  has  for  the 
time  forgotten  its  politics  and  its  curious  interest  in  the  broad 
affairs  of  the  world  to  weep  over  this  stricken  cit}^  It  is  said  a 
touch  of  pity  makes  the  world  akin,  and  Galveston  is  compassed 
about  by  the  throbbing  heart  of  mankind. 

HAS    REACHED    A    CRISIS. 

It  is  well  that  it  so,  for  this  town  has  reached  a  crisis  in  its 
life  when  this  sustaining  influence  is  needed.  It  is  not  suprising 
that  many  surviving  victims  of  the  storm  are  about  to  succumb  to 
despair.  God  knows  the  burden  of  anguish  which  oppresses 
every  heart  here  is  calculated  to  breed  despair.  The  duty  of  the 
hour,  however,  is  too  plain  to  be  disregarded.  This  island  must 
be  restored  to  its  former  beauty  and  greatness  in  all  the  arts  and 
industries  of  civilization,  and  it  is  fortunate  that  some  of  the  citi- 
zens here  realize  this.  They  are  going  to  encourage  the  others 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  there  will  be  failure. 

It  required  more  than  half  a  century  to  build  up  what  the  storm 
,  /.estroyed  in  twelve  hours,  but  it  will  not  require  but  a  fraction  of 
that  period  to  restore  the  city.  As  Chicago  rallied  from  the  great 
fire,  so  Galveston  must  and  will  arise  from  the  ruins  of  this 
hour.  The  wharves,  which  are  the  foundation  of  the  city's  com- 
mercial establishment,  will  be  rebuilt  and  the  traffic  will  come  as 
of  yore. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Thousands  Died   in   their  Efforts   to   Save  Others — Houses 

and  Human  Beings  Floating  on  the  Tide — An  Army 

of  Orphans — Greatest  Catastrophe  in  Our  History. 

'^  \  A /"HHN    did    you    first    realize    that  3^011  were  in  danger?''' 

^  '  That,  ordinarily,  would  seem  to  be  a  foolish  question  to 
put  to  a  man  who  had  escaped  death  as  it  rode  on  the  storm,  and 
yet  it  was  not  a  foolish  question,  but  the  natural  one.  For  the 
Galveston  people  had  for  years  argued  out  the  question  of  the 
danger  attending  the  living  on  the  island.  True,  Indianola,  awful 
even  now  in  memory,  stood  out  as  an  alarm  to  those  who  live 
down  by  the  sea.  True,  there  had  been  storms  and  storms  in 
Galveston.  True,  their  were  people  on  the  great  mainland  who 
contended  that  wind  and  water  would  bring  disaster  to  Galveston 
whenever  the  two  acted  in  concert  and  from  the  right  direction. 

But  the  answer  to  the  Indianola  alarm  was  that  the  situation 
of  that  unfortunate  town  exposed  it  to  a  storm  fury  ;  that  it  was 
a  fair  mark  ;  that  it  was  almost  level  with  the  water  and  all  that. 
The  fact  that  there  had  been  storms  and  storms  at  Galveston  only 
confirmed  the  people  in  their  security.  For  as  each  had  passed 
away  without  carrying  any  great  number  of  lives  with  them,  why 
should  not  this  do  the  same  ? 

As  to  the  people  on  the  mainland  Avho  had  prophesied  disaster, 
why,  they  were  merely  timid  and  ignorant  people.  Therefore  the 
question  "when  did  you  realize  that  you  were  in  danger"  was  a 
reasonable  one.  And  the  answer  was  the  same  in  nearly  every  case. 
There  might  have  been  a  difference  as  to  the  moment  when  these 
people,  penned  like  rats  in  a  cage,  first  felt  the  terror  of  impend- 
ing death,  but  invariably  the  answer  was  that  the  storm  was  almost 
at  its  height  before  the  realization  came.  In  man}''  cases  onl}''  the 
falling  houses  brought  the  realization. 

One  little  girl  at  a  grocery  store  out  on  avenue  P,  from  which 
street  to  the   Gulf,   the  storm  swept  the  island   like    a   broom, 

.871 


372  DIED   IN   EFFORTS  TO  SAVE  OTHERS. 

answered  me  :  "Mother  and  my  eight  little  brothers  and  sisters 
were  upstairs,  and  I  went  down  to  see  what  the  water  was  doing 
in  the  store.  You  see  we  live  upstairs  over  the  store.  M}^  papa 
is  dead  a  long  time  ago.  When  I  went  down  lU}^  brother  went 
with  me  and  the  water  was  half  way  up  the  counter.  But  that 
didn't  scare  us,  because  we  have  seen  high  water  and  heard  the 
winds  before.  Well,  we  went  back  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  were 
down  again. 

"  Then  the  counter  v-^as  floating.  Brother  said  not  to  tell 
mother,  but  I  did.  Then  we  saw  a  house  tumble  down  and  we 
heard  people  crying.  We  got  scared  then  and  me  and  mamma 
prayed.  We  prayed  that  one  of  us  would  not  be  drowned  if  the 
little  children  were  not  drowned,  because  one  of  us  would  have  to 
be  their  mother." 

The  maternal  love  was  uppermost.  But  the  love  of  that 
little  girl  for  her  little  brothers  and  sisters,  as  she  told  me  the 
story  in  her  simple  way,  passeth  in  greatness  all  understanding. 

"I  FELT  THAT  THE   END   HAD   COME." 

"  When  did  you  think  you  were  in  real  danger  ?  "  I  asked 
of  a  merchant. 

"Not  until  Ritter's  house  went  down  and  I  saw  the  waters 
rapidly  climbing  the  walls.  We  had  passed  through  the  terrible 
storm  of  1875,  and  had  lived.  Since  then  the  island  has  been 
raised  five  feet  or  more.  Why  should  we  not  have  felt  easy  ? 
But  when  the  wind  and  waves  began  to  show  their  fur}^,  when  I 
saw  these  extra  five  or  more  feet  covered  by  a  raging  torrent  which 
raced  hither  and  thither,  I  felt  that  the  end  had  come.  Up  the 
waters  came  about  the  fence — up  they  came  and  covered  the 
hedge.     Up  they  came  and  knocked  at  the  door. 

"  Yet  I  still  thought  the  end  would  be  reached.  We  had 
been  told  that  the  height  of  the  storm  would  be  at  9  o'clock.  At 
5  and  6  and  7  the  waters  continued  to  climb  and  the  winds  to  take 
on  new  strength.  At  the  last  hour  they  were  at  the  door.  What 
must  come,  then,  at  9  ?  My  heart  fell  then.  I  had  peered  out  of 
the  window  and  saw  the  dreadful  enemy  assault  the  house.    Then 


DIED  IN  EFP'ORTS   TO  SAV^E  OTHERS.  378 

agouized  people  were  heard.  It  was  dark  and  the  spray  sped  in 
slieets.  Yet  it  was  light  enough  to  see  now  and  then.  People  in 
boats  and  wading  came  along.  Their  houses  were  gone.  Mine 
rocked  like  a  cradle,  and  I  felt  the  end  had  come."  Thus  said 
another  man  :  "What  were  your  feelings  ?  "  "Nothing  but  that  of 
complete  resignation.  I  have  read  much  in  books  of  the  tableaux 
of  the  past  appearing  to  the  human  mind  on  the  eve  of  man's  dis- 
solution. In  no  instance  have  I  found  that  the  survivors  of  this 
terrible  thing  remembered  the  past.  Some  were  frightened  and 
simply  shrieked  and  laid  hold  of  anything  that  would  relieve  them 
from  the  embraces  of  the  water.  Some  were  frightened  and  prayed 
for  mercy.  Some  were  frightened  into  dumb  resigtiation,  partak- 
ing of  dumb  indifference." 

NOBLE   DEEDS  IN   TIME  OF  DISASTER. 

In  all  great  catastrophes  I  have  yet  to  know  of  one  that  some 
special  act  of  selfishness  and  brutality  did  not  occur.  There  is 
hardly  a  great  wreck  recorded  in  which  is  not  depicted  the  brute 
who  pushed  women  from  boats  or  from  spars.  In  all  I  have  heard 
of  the  thousands  of  incidents  connected  with  this  storm,  not  an 
instance  of  that  selfishness  which  would  cause  one  person  to 
deprive  another  of  his  means  of  escape  has  occurred.  Thousands 
of  instances  of  devotion  of  husband  to  wife,  of  wife  to  husband,  of 
child  to  parent  and  parent  to  child  can  be  mentioned. 

One  poor  woman  with  her  child  and  her  father  was  cast  out 
into  the  raging  waters.  They  were  separated.  Both  were  in  drift 
and  both  believed  they  wen^.  out  in  the  Gulf  and  returned.  The 
mother  was  finally  cast  upon  the  drift,  and  there  she  was  pounded 
by  the  waves  and  debris  until  she  pulled  into  a  house  against 
which  the  drift  had  lodged.  During  all  that  frightful  ride  she 
held  to  her  8-months-old  babe,  and  when  she  was  on  the  drift  pile 
she  lay  upon  her  infant  and  covered  it  with  her  bod}^,  that  it 
might  escape  the  blows  of  the  planks.  She  came  out  of  the  ordeal 
cut  and  maimed.     But  the  infant  had  not  a  scratch. 

Another  man  took  his  wife  from  one  house  to  another  by 
swimming  until  he  had  occupied  three.      Bach  fell  in  its  turn,  and 


374  DIED  IN    EFFORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS. 

tlien  h^  took  to  the  waves.  They  were  separated  and  each,  as  the 
persons  above  mentioned,  believed  they  were  carried  to  sea. 
Strange  to  sa}-,  after  three  honrs  in  the  water  he  heard  her  call, 
and  finally  rescued  her. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  on  and  recite  these  instances,  for 
there  were  thousands,  each  showing  that  in  time  of  danger  at 
least  the  best  sentiments  in  man's  nature  are  aroused.  It  can  be 
safely  guessed  that  one-half  of  those  who  perished,  died  in  their 
effort  to  aid  others.  The  trite  expression  of  "man's  inhumanity 
to  man"  has  no  place  in  all  that  may  be  written  or  spoken  of  this 
great  tragedy. 

DIRECTION   OF  THE  STORM. 

It  is  not  a.  ill  remarkable  that  of  all  the  statements  in  regard 
to  the  details  of  this  storm  no  two  persons  can  be  found  who  agree 
on  the  direction  of  the  wind  and  the  currents.  All  agree  that  the 
most  terrible  blows  w^hich  the  town  received  came  from  the  point 
of  the  compass  which  may  be  spoken  of  as  between  northeast  and 
east.  There  are  those  who  declare  that  first  the  wind  was  almost 
from  the  north.  Then  it  veered  till  it  was  almost  east,  and  then 
settled  down  to  its  herculean  efforts  from  a  point  between  the 
two;  and  yet  there  are  others  who  say  that  it  came  from  all  <d Erec- 
tions at  different  times  and  prove  it  by  the  loss  of  windows  in 
their  houses. 

These  waves  came  in  from  the  Gulf.  They  filled  the  bay. 
The  water  chased  across  the  island,  met  the  waves  and  then  it 
seems  there  was  a  battle  between  the  two  elements.  For  the  cur- 
rents ran  criss-cross.  They  went  down  one  street,  up  another 
street  and  across  lots.  The}/-  seized  a  house  here  and  placed  it 
there.  They  seized  a  house  there  and  placed  it  here.  Men  were 
carried  to  sea.  Men  were  carried  down  the  island.  Men  were 
carried  across  the  bay  by  it.  No  chart  can  be  even  dreamed  of 
their  peculiarities.  The  wind  lashed  the  water  and  it  fled.  That 
was  all  there  was  in  it,  and  it  fled  in  every  direction,  carrying  on 
its  bosom  a  shrieking  people.  It  carried  too,  houses  whole, 
houses  in  halves,  houses  in  kindling  wood. 


DIED    IN    EFP^ORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS.  87& 

The  winds  dipped  and  seized  the  debris  and  hurled  it  on. 
The  air  was  filled  with  missiles  of  every  kind.  The  water  held 
them  and  threw  them  from  wave  to  wave.  The  winds  grasped 
them  as  they  were  thrown  and  hurled  them  further.  Stoves,  bath 
tubs,  sewing  machines,  slates  from  roofs — these  were  as  light  in 
the  hand  of  the  two  giants,  wind  and  water,  now  in  their  fury,  as 
the  common  match  w^ould  be  in  the  hand  of  the  strong  man. 

From  the  northeast  it  is  generally  conceded  the  storm  came. 
Galveston  island  runs  nearly  east  and  west.  So  it  will  be  seen 
that  it  had  a  clean  sweep  from  end  to  end  of  it.  The  streets  are 
numbered  across  the  island.  They  are  lettered  as  they  run  with 
the  island,  east  and  west.  For  instance,  the  street  running  east 
and  west  nearest  the  bay  is  A  street.  Then  there  is  B,  and  so 
on  toward  the  Gulf  P  and  Q  streets  may  be  said  to  be  two-thirds 
across  the  island,  that  is  to  say,  they  are  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
from  the  bay  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  Gulf  This  is  not 
an  accurate  statement  and  is  only  given  to  illustrate.  Between 
Q  street  and  the  Gulf  were  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  houses. 
While  man}^  were  fine  mansions,  the  great  majority  of  them  were 
the  houses  of  the  poor. 

HAMMERED    INTO    SHAPELESS    MASSES. 

Coming  down  the  island  from  the  east,  the  storm  struck 
these  habitations. 

It  was  in  this  area,  east  and  west,  from  one  end  of  the  town 
to  the  other,  it  did  its  worst.  The  large  houses  were  overthrown. 
Where  they  fell  they  were  hammered  into  shapeless  masses.  The 
small  ones  were  taken  up.  A  man  can  take  two  eggs  and  mash 
them  against  each  other.  The  waters  took  the  remnants  and 
pushed  them  forward.  One  street  of  buildings  would  go  down. 
That  would  be  next  to  the  Gulf  The  timbers  were  hurled  against 
another  street.  It  would  go  down.  The  debris  of  the  two  would 
attack  the  third.  The  three  would  attack  the  fourth,  and  thus 
ou  till  Q  street  was  reached.     Here  the  mass  lodged. 

It  is  said  by  some,  though  I  know  nothing   of  it,   that   about 
it  is  the  back-bone,  or  high  part  of  the   island.     The    great  mass 


376  DIED  IN  EFP'ORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS. 

of  matter  »becameliea\y.     It  must  have  dragged  upon  the  ground 
as  the  water  here  could  have  only  been    five   to    seven   feet  deep. 
But   this    would   not   have   stopped    it,   had  the  last  street  to  be 
assaulted,  Q  street  or  Q}4  street,  not  interposed.     The  houses  here 

,-were  rather  large  and  strong.  This  battering  ram  made  by  the 
winds  and  worked  both   by   the  winds  and   the    water,    met   with 

'resistance  from  the  houses  and  was  impeded  by  its  own  weight, 
which  dragged  it  on  the  bottom.  Its  efforts  at  destruction  became 
more  and  more  feeble.  The  houses  stood,  though  wrecked.  The 
debris  climbed  to  the  very  eaves. 

But  the  more  that  came,  the  heavier  the  mass  became.  And 
lo  !  the  very  assailant  became  the  defender  !  For,  piling  higher 
and  higher — piling  higher  and  higher  by  the  addition  of  houses 
lately  splintered,  b}^  the  addition  of  everything  from  a  piano  to  a 
child's  whistle,  there  was  a  wall  built  against  the  great  waves 
which  rolled  in  from  the  Gulf,  and  thereby  the  territory  lying 
between  the  bulwark  and  the  bay,  was  protected  to  some  extent. 
True,  the  casual  observer  will  think  as  he  looks  even  up  and  doAvn 
the  main  streets  of  the  town,  that  very  little  protection  was  given. 

A    BULWARK    OF    DEAD    PEOPLE. 

But  few  lives  were  lost,  in  comparison,  in  this  district,  and 
while  the  stores  were  flooded  and  houses  toppled  over  by  the  winds 
and  undermined  by  the  water,  yet  that  bulwark  made  of  dead 
people  and  all  they  had  struggled  for  and  owned  in  this  life,  kept 
back  the  savage  waves  from  the  Gulf  and  saved  the  rest  of  the 
town.  Looking  at  this  wall,  from  which,  as  I  write,  come  the 
odors  of  decomposition,  climbing  it,  as  this  correspondent  has 
done,  he  is  sure  in  his  mind  that  if  it  had  not  been  formed  not  as 
many  people  of  Galveston  Island  would  have  escaped  as  on 
that  day  when  Pompeii  was  shut  out  from  the  eyes  of  the  world 
by  the  veil  of  ashes. 

'■  These  are  speculations.     In  years   to  come  men  may  be  able 

Lu  talk  of  this  greatest  of  catastrophes  in  the  cool,  deliberate  way 
which  will  admit  of  reasonable  hypotheses  as  to  the  causes  of  the 
results,  but  they  cannot  do  it  now.    The  wind  blew  from  the  east. 


DIED    IN    EFFORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS.  377 

The  currents  were  criss-cross.  M}^  God,  it  was  awfiii.  And  that 
is  as  far  as  you  can  get  with  any  of  those  left.  For  they  know  no 
more.  They  know  that  the  wind  blew.  They  know  the  waves 
rolled.  They  know,  or  most  of  them  do,  that  they  lost  dear  ones, 
and  that  is  all.  The  h37drographer  of  the  future  may  tell  us  all. 
But  as  far  as  such  people  of  North  Texas,  as  I  am,  they  will 
leave  it  to  him.  He  may  know  the  currents  and  the  winds,  and 
tell  to  the  satisfaction.  But  he  will  never  tell  of  these  horrors.  I 
cannot  in  the  present.  I  may  not  be  able  to  do  it  in  the  future. 
When  the  story  of  the  funeral  pyres  and  the  burials  at  sea,  and 
the  reasons  for  both,  are  explained — when  the  pictures  are  given 
of  the  rescued,  hunting  for  the  dead — then  indeed  if  all  are  drawn 
as  they  are — natural  and  unstained — another  monstrosity  in  news 
paper  life  will  have  arisen. 

GALVESTON    SAFE    NOW. 

No  man — scientist  or  mere  citizen — is  authority  upon  the 
\vondrous  winds  and  ties  that  reduced  the  island  of  Galveston  to 
an  incomprehensible  pot  pourri  of  devastation.  All  is  guess 
work,  behind  which  there  is  neither  science  nor  common  sense. 
As  far  as  a  deliberate  proposition  evolved  by  a  fair  measure  of 
judgment  in  which  there  enters  as  little  of  egotism  as  is  possible 
with  human  beings,  I  would  rather  trust  the  guesser  than  the 
scientist. 

As  I  begin  the  story  at  nightfall,  the  lightning  is  illuminat- 
ing the  bank  of  clouds  massed  over  the  Gulf  horizon.  For  the 
past  half  hour  I  have  looked  upon  the  flashes,  and  those  around 
me  wondered  if  it  were  to  come  again.  The  "it,"  of  course, 
means  the  visitation  of  last  Saturday  night.  They  look  anxiously 
around  as  the  streaks  of  gold  and  silver  illumine  th^  sky  at  quick 
intervals. 

My  friends  are  those  who  went  through  the  awful  experience 
of  the  cataclysm.     I  know  as  well  as  mortal  man  can  know  any 
thing  that  this  island  is  no  longer  a  target  for  the  elements.     I 
know  that  a  target  like  this   devastated   island   could   no  longer 
invite    the    shafts    of  the    elements,  even  if  the    elements   were 


,'}78  DIED    IN    EFP^ORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS 

endowed  witli  liumau  or  divine  intelligence.  And  I  know  in  the 
simjDle  faith  of  hnmanity  that  the  God  who  "plants  his  footsteps 
in  the  sea  and  rides  upon  the  storm  "  would  reach  out  with  hi? 
omnipotent  arm  and  throttle  the  agencies  of  nature  if  they  should 
again  aggravate  wind  and  wave  to  vent  their  wrath  upon  these 
desolate  shores. 

I  know  that  if  the  sorrows  of  this  community,  what  remains 
of  it,  have  thrilled  humanit}^,  they  must  have  touched  the  well- 
springs  of  divine  mercy  and  sympathy,  and  that  the  helpless 
victims  who  have  survived  the  tragedy  of  this  moment  may  feel 
safe  from  another  attack  from  the  remorselessness  of  the  storm. 

LIGHTNING    FLASHES    IN    DARKNESS. 

Galveston,  stricken  and  bleeding,  is  safe  from  the  wrath  of 
all  powers,  human  or  divine.  The  vivid  lightnings  ma}^  cleave 
the  sleepless  waves  of  the  sea  and  the  thunders  may  play  at  will 
among  the  fantastic  clouds  in  the  sky.  Galveston,  soothed  and 
compassed  by  the  tenderness  of  mankind,  is  veiled  in  the  folds  of 
heaven's  mercy,  and  the  shrieking  tempest  is  now  but  a  whisper 
from  the  sky,  the  angry  wave  but  the  gentle  falling  of  tears  from 
above  the  stars. 

It  is  so  hard  to  write  the  story  or  a  chapter  of  it  without 
feeling  the  power  that  appalls  human  intelligence,  just  as  it  is 
hard  to  disassociate  overwhelming  sorrow  from  that  broad  sym- 
pathy which  we  do  not  understand,  but  which  never  fails  to 
nestle  close  to  human  misery.  Call  it  what  you  may,  it  is  part 
of  human  life,  and  its  presence  comes  when  disaster  overwhelms 
to  bring  humanity  in  the  presence  of  God. 

Who  can  dispute  this  in  the  presence  of  the  all-pervading 
m3^stery  of  the  storm  ?  Who  can  laugh  to  scorn  the  sympathy 
whose  manifestations  have  already  reached  the  widows  and 
orphans,  whose  desolate  lives  now  find  comfort  from  the  realms 
above  ?  This  is  not  a  matter  of  appealing  to  emotion.  I  have 
before  me  this  minute  four  rings.  The  man  who  brings  them 
tells  me  that  they  were  taken  from  rigid  fingers,  among  the  700 
who  on    last   Monday    were    sunk   to    rest    amid    the    borderless 


DIED    IN    EFFORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS.  379 

fathoms  of  tlie  sea.  He  says  tliey  may  be  the  means  of  identifi- 
cation of  three  lost  ones.  No  ;  there  can  be  no  identification  ; 
but  who  can  tell  the  tender  secrets  which  these  circlets  pledged  ? 
Identification  is  impossible  deep  down  among  the  mysteries  of 
the  sea. 

The  tragedy  grows  greater  every  moment.  The  romances 
dead  to  the  world,  the  grief  lost  beneath  the  wave  or  carried  to 
the  vapors  above  the  earth,  the  aching  hearts  soothed  by  lasting 
peace,  the  tired  souls  in  the  arms  of  endless  rest,  the  ambitions 
stilled  by  the  calm  which  banishes  the  anguish  of  life's  dreary 
struggle — it  matters  not  what  these  rings  may  bring  to  mind — 
we  are  yet  confronted  with  the  loss  of  the  thousands  who  shall 
never  again  press  these  wave-kissed  shores.  The  sentiment  of 
this  people  is,  God  rest  every  one  who  sleeps  beneath  the  wave, 
and  gather  to  everlasting  peace  the  ashes  of  all  whose  funeral 
pyres  were  built  of  these  shattered  homes. 

A  DAY  OF  ANGUISH. 

It  has  been  a  day  of  anguish  like  all  the  days  of  this  week 
have  been.  There  has  been  no  cessation  of  tear-stained  faces 
appearing  here  and  there  to  tell  of  the  lost.  And  it  is  a  wonder 
if  the  end  of  this  sad  divulgence  will  ever  come.  A  motherless 
boy  or  a  fatherless  girl,  a  now  childless  mother  or  father,  or  what- 
ever it  may  be,  they  still  come  to  tell  of  their  woe,  and  the  stolid 
men  who  glide  over  the  water  or  who  search  the  shore,  still  bring 
in  the  swollen  and  unrecognizable  victims  of  the  storm.  It  will 
end  some  day,  and  agonizing  hearts  may  rest  the  painful  throb- 
bings  of  this  hour. 

It  matters  not  how  great  the  numbers  of  the  dead,  they  are 
numerous  enough  to  shock  the  sympathies  of  the  world,  and  they 
are  gone  forever.  But  we  fear  to  look  upon  the  sea,  lest  some 
heartless  wave  shall  bring  to  view  the  cold,  stark  form  of  some- 
body whom  somebody  loved.  The  victims  are  still  growing  into 
larger  thousands,  and  the  bereft  are  still  coming  in  to  tell  of 
losses.  It  is  a  continued  story  of  anguish  and  death,  such  as 
Texas  has  never  known  before  and  will  never  know  again 


380  DIED    IN    EFFORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS. 

It  Is  needless  to  repeat  the  sad  discoveries  which,  every  day 
brings  forth.  It  is  said  that  every  wave  of  the  sea  has  its  trag- 
edy, and  it  seems  to  be  true  here.  In  Galveston  it  has  ceased  to 
be  anxiety  for  the  dead,  but  concern  for  the  living.  The  su- 
preme disaster,  with  its  overwhelming  tale  of  death  and  destruc- 
tion, has  now  abated  to  lively  anxiety  for  the  salvation  of  the 
living. 

Men  are  at  work  clearing  the  streets  of  piles  of  timber  and 
refuse.  Men  are  beginning  to  realize  that  the  living  must  be 
cared  for.  It  is  now  the  supreme  duty.  There  is  much  work  to 
be  done,  and  it  is  being  done.  Women  and  children  are  being 
hurried  out  of  the  city  just  as  rapidly  as  the  limited  facilities  of 
transportation  will  permit.  The  authorities  and  committees  are 
rational  and  idleness  is  no  longer  permitted.  There  is  an  element 
with  an  abundance  of  vital  energy,  who  intend  to  save  the  town, 
and  the  town  is  being  saved. 

WORK   RAPIDLY   PUSHED. 

Burying  the  dead,  feeding  the  destitute,  cleaningthe  city  and 
repairing  wrecks  of  all  characters  is  under  fair  headway  and  will  be 
pushed  as  rapidly  as  men  can  be  found  to  do  the  work.  The  great 
utilities  of  the  city  are  being  repaired  to  a  state  of  usefulness, 
men  are  in  demand,  and  workers  are  coming  to  engage  in  the  duty 
of  restoration.  Life  is  beginning  to  supersede  death,  and  there  is 
apparent  everywhere  a  desire  to  save  the  city  and  rebuild  it. 
Before  another  week  has  passed,  the  listlessness  of  mourning 
people  will  have  been  changed  into  a  lively  interest  in  life,  and  as 
this  becomes  so,  Galveston  will  begin  to  realize  just  what  the 
world  expects  of  her. 

Colonel  W.  L.  Moody  reached  Galveston  on  Friday  night, 
returning  from  New  York.  He  was  in  New  York  when  the  news 
of  the  storm  reached  there  and  he  immediately  started  for  home. 

He  had  determined  before  he  reached  here  that  he  would 
rebuild  everything  he  had  which  had  been  damaged  by  the  storm, 
and  he  was  hoping  that  telegraphic  communication  would  be 
restored    so   that   the  work  of  relieving  the  distress    might   be 


DIED   IN    EFFORTS  TO  SAVE  OIHERS.  381 

rendered  more   efficient  and   so  tliat  people  might  wire  for  the 
material  necessary  to  repair  and  rebuild  their  houses. 

When  asked  for  a  statement  as  to  his  intentions,  he  said : 
"I  was  in  New  York  when  the  news  of  the  storm  came,  and 
intended  to  start  for  home  the  last  of  this  week,  but  immediately 
changed  my  plans  and  left  for  Galveston  at  once.  The  people 
of  this  country  have  responded  generously,  liberally,  to  the  crj 
for  assistance  ;  the  disaster  is  appalling  and  appeals  to  the  feel- 
ings and  sympathy  of  mankind.  And  the  country  has  responded 
liberally,  as  I  said,  even  before  they  knew  or  appreciated  the 
extent  of  the  ruin  and  its  consequences. 

"The  first  news  we  received  was  very  mild  compared  with 
what  followed.  Galveston  was  cut  off  from  communication  with 
the  world,  and  the  story  of  the  storm  was  but  partially  told.  The 
further  along  I  got  on  my  journey  home,  the  fuller  became  the 
information  in  regard  to  the  storm  and  we  learned  more  and  more 
of  the  greatness  of  the  disaster.  The  fact  that  the  world 
responded  so  freely  to  the  first  appeal  is  gratifying  and  inspires 
us  with  confidence  in  humanity.  Those  who  have  suffered  from 
the  storm  will  be  cared  for  by  a  generous  and  sympathetic  public. 
The  prompt  and  generous  aid  is  a  beautiful  thing. 

DAMAGE    WILL    BE    REPAIRED. 

"What  of  the  future?  Galveston  will  be  rebuilt ;  it  will  be 
stronger  and  better  than  ever  before.  On  my  way  home  I  stated 
that  I  would  restore  my  property,  whatever  the  damage  might 
be,  as  quickl}^  as  money  and  men  would  do  it,  if  I  was  the  only 
man  to  take  that  course  ;  and  I  furthermore  said  that  I  believe  I 
knew  and  understood  what  the  feeling  of  the  business  community 
of  Galveston  was  in  this  respect  and  that  I  had  voiced  it. 

"  At  Texas  City  I  met  a  woman  from  Kansas  City.  She  was 
demoralized  by  what  she  had  passed  through  and  seen  and  she 
declared  that  Galveston  would  never  be  rebuilt ;  that  no  one 
would  be  foolish  enough  to  again  build  in  a  place  which  had  been 
;o  storm  swept. 

"  Answering  her,  I  said  that  she  did  not  know  what  she  was 


882  DIED    IN   EFFORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS. 

talking  about ;  that  Galveston  wonld  be  rebuilt  because  it  was 
necessar\^  to  have  a  city  here  ;  that  if  the  storm  had  swept  the 
island  bare  of  every  human  habitation  and  every  structure  and 
had  left  it  as  barren  as  it  was  before  civilized  man  set  foot  upon 
it,  still  men  would  come  here  and  build  a  city,  because  a  port  was 
demanded  at  this  place.  '  And  why  should  we  not  restore  our 
city  ?  '  I  asked.  '  It  has  been  visited  by  the  severest  storm  on 
record.  As  it  has  withstood  that  storm,  partially,  why  should  we 
hesitate  to  rebuild  ?  Why  should  we  consider  it  less  safe  than 
another  place  ?  Can  you  conceive  that  another  such  a  storm  is 
more  likely  to  strike  at  that  exact  spot  again  in  a  thousand  years  ? 
Can  you  tell  me  any  spot  on  earth,  on  hill  or  dale,  on  mountain 
or  plain,  on  which  you  can  guarantee  me  any  immunities  ?  If  so, 
I  would  like  to  go  there.  If  I  were  in  the  accident  insurance 
business,  I  would  rather  insure  a  man  against  storm  in  Galves- 
ton than  to  insure  a  man  in  New  York  against  accident  on  the 
railroads.  You  are  now  on  your  way  to  Kansas  City.  Do  3^ou 
know  that  you  will  reach  there  safely  ?  Do  you  know  that  you 
may  not  be  pitched  into  some  river  and  drowned,  or  being  only 
half  drowned  be  burned  to  death  ?  ' 

WILL    BUILD    BETTER    THAN    BEFORE. 


u 


I  slept  at  my  home  last  night  with  as  great  a  sense  of 
security  and  safety  as  I  ever  have  felt  during  my  residence  in  this 
city,"  Colonel  Moody  continued.  "  There  may  be  some  people 
who  will  leave  here,  but  there  will  be  enough  people  left  here  who 
will  rebuild  their  properties  and  go  ahead  with  the  city  to  form 
the  nucleus  for  its  future  growth.  We  will  build  better  than 
before,  and  the  city  will  be  better  and  stronger  and  safer  than 
ever. 

' '  The  railroads  are  leading  off  with  this  better  construction  ; 
they  will  build  a  double  track  steel  bridge.  Every  man  who 
builds  in  this  city  hereafter  will  build  better  and  stronger  than 
before,  and  the  weaker  structures  will  be  weeded  out.  We  will 
have  better  building  regulations,  and  men  will  not  be  permitted, 
if  they  would,  to  construct  faulty  buildings. 


DIED   IN   EFFORTS  TO  SAVE  OTHERS.  38^ 

''Some  people  may  say,  'Oh,  Mood}^  can  afford  to  make 
this  talk  ;  he  is  planted  down  here  and  can  not  get  Siway.'  But 
let  me  tell  yon  I  could  get  away  very  easily  if  I  wanted  to.  The 
greater  portion  of  what  I  hope  I  own  is  not  in  Galveston,  but  is 
scattered  throughout  the  State.  It  is  in  the  hands  of  merchants 
throughout  Texas  to  whom  we  have  made  advances  on  cotton.  I 
•could  get  away  very  easily  if  I  had  any  desire  to  do  so  ;  in  fact,  I 
believe  I  could  liquidate  and  get  out  of  town  about  as  easily  as  any 
man  in  it. 

"  So  far  as  our  business  and  property  are  concerned,  the  bank 
is  running  along  with  unimpaired  facilities.  I  have  had  an  archi- 
tect at  work  all  day  preparing  for  the  immediate  restoration  of  the 
bank  building,  the  compress  buildings  and  my  other  property. 
The  compress  machinery  is  intact,  and  we  will  be  pressing  cotton 
again  within  a  week.  Some  of  the  partition  walls  in  the  cotton 
warehouses  were  blown  out,  but  we  will  have  a  force  of  men  at 
work  immediately  and  will  have  them  rebuilt  before  it  is  realized. 
And  the  walls  will  be  better  than  they  were  before,  because  they 
were  originally  constructed  by  contract,  while  I  am  now  having 
them  rebuilt  myself  by  day's  work. 

MOST  MIRACULOUS  ESCAPE. 

"  The  people  of  Texas  have  not  lost  confidence  in  Galveston 
and  have  not  manifested  a  disposition  to  quit  the  city.  In  to-day's 
mail  we  received  bills  of  lading  for  three  hundred  bales  of  cotton 
shipped  to  us  since  the  storm." 

The  most  miraculous  escape  from  the  storm  reached  one  of 
the  newspapers  in  a  roundabout  way.  An  employe  of  the  paper 
was  coming  to  work  when  he  overheard  a  few  words  passing 
between  a  couple  of  men  talking  on  the  street.  He  heard  enough 
to  elicit  his  interest  and  made  inquiries.  One  of  the  men  told  him 
that  an  old  German,  whose  name  he  did  not  know,  had  been  picked 
out  of  the  debris  at  Sherman  square  Saturday  evening  after  hav- 
ing laid  there  a  week. 

People  going  by  heard  a  sound  which  seemed  to  them  like  a 
groan.     Thev  stopped  to  listen  and  the  groan  was  repeated.    They 


^ri-i  DIED    IN    EFFORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS. 

hastily  pulled  off  the  debris  aud  there  found  the  old  man  still  alive 
It  was  understood  that  he  was  immediately  taken  to  the  home  or 
friends  at  Tenth  and  Mechanic  streets  for  care  and  treatment. 

This  story  is  the  most  remarkable  instance  of  preservation 
of  life  recorded.  The  man  must  have  gone  through  at  least 
a  portion  of  the  storm  to  have  been  caught  in  the  drift.  He 
must  have  been  above  the  water  line  at  that  point  or  he  would 
have  drowned.  Why  his  groans  were  not  heard  before  is  not 
understood,  unless  it  be  that  he  laid  unconscious  until  shortly 
before  he  was  found.  What  a  tenacity  of  life  the  man  must  have 
had  to  lie  there  for  a  w^eek  without  food  or  water  buried  beneath 
all  that  debris. 

Pete  Brophey,  clerk  of  the  corporation  court,  is  lying  in  a 
room  at  the  Tremont  Hotel  suffering  from  injuries  received  in  the 
^torm.  The  stor}^  he  tells  of  his  miraculous  escape,  like  the  many 
others,  wonderful,  yet  terrible,  is  also  one  of  sorrow,  as  he  lost  his 
aged  parents  in  the  storm. 

HE  TOOK  THE  AWFUL  RISK. 

When  the  storm  began  to  get  so  ferocious  he  became 
frightened.  In  the  evening,  just  after  dark,  securing  a  boat,  he 
started  out  with  his  parents  to  a  Mr.  Cleveland's,  a  neighbor's 
house,  it  being  large  and  the  most  substantial  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. At  that  time  the  water  was  rising  rapidly  and  v/as  being- 
lashed  into  a  perfect  fury  by  the  terrific  wind.  It  was  a  terrible 
thing  to  start  out  in  the  water  under  such  conditions,  but  he  saw 
that  their  house  would  not  stand  long,  so  he  took  the  awful  risk. 
The  boat  was  a  small  affair,  and  with  three  people  in  it,  it  was 
overloaded  ;  nevertheless,  with  great  daring  he  succeeded  in  get- 
ting his  mother  and  father  into  it,  the  former  being  62  years  of 
aee  and  the  latter  66.  It  was  a  terrific  risk,  but  he  had  to  take  it. 
After  getting  his  parents  into  the  boat  he  started  out  tr  his 
neighbor's  house. 

The  waters  were  rushing  like  mad  down  the  street  and 
whipped  the  boat  around  as  if  it  were  but  a  straw.  Added  to  the 
terrible  force  of  the  Avaters  was  the  terrific  wind.     They  were  get- 


DIED    IN    EFFORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS.  38& 

ting  along  all  right,  uotwitlistanding  this,  and  were  making  for 
the  house  below  them,  when,  just  ahead,  he  saw  a  man  and 
woman  and  several  children  making  for  the  boat.  When  it  came 
near  enough  they  grasped  its  sides  and  begged  to  be  taken  in. 

It  was  indeed  a  trying  situation.  There  he  was,  with  his 
aged  parents  with  him  in  a  boat  already  overloaded,  with  the  wind 
blowing  almost  a  hundred  miles  an  hour  and  carrying  all  before 
it,  with  the  waves  dashing  everything  to  pieces  and  hurling  the 
timbers  of  the  houses  against  whatever  might  be  in  the  way,  with 
a  force  that  only  the  most  vivid  imagination  can  picture.  It  was 
a  terrible  ordeal,  but  like  the  man  that  he  is.  he  could  not  leave 
those  begging  parents  and  crying  children  without  making  at 
least  an  effort  "to  save  them.  So,  after  great  dif&culty,  the  woman 
ana  children  got  aboard,  and  the  perilous  journey  to  what  they 
hoped  would  be  a  haven  of  refuge  was  again  begun,  or  rather  it 
had  been  going  on  all  the  time,  as  the  boat  was  being  carried  down 
on  the  crest  of  the  waves  with  frightful  velocity. 

THE  BOAT  CAPSIZED. 

When  almost  abreast  of  the  house  the  boat  capsized.  Then 
again  Brophe}^  showed  his  bravery  and  that  he  was  through  and 
through  a  hero.  Instead  of  striking  out  alone  for  the  house  he 
thought  of  his  parents  and  the  drowning  family.  After  much 
difficulty,  after  having  gone  under  time  and  time  again  in  his 
frantic  efforts  to  save  his  loved  ones  and  the  destitute  famil}^,  he 
at  last  succeeded  in  getting  them  into  the  house. 

That  place  they  found  filled  to  overflowing  with  refugees  like 

themselves.     The  house  was  creaking  and  trembling   under  the 

terrible   force  of  the  water  and  wind,  and   Brophey  saw  that  it 

would  be  but  a  little  while  before  it,  too,  would  have  to  succumb. 

So  he  braced  himself  in  a  door  and  waited  for  the  inevitable.     It 

was  but  a  little  while  till  it  came.     The  house  went  down  and  all 

with  it  except  Brophey,  who  found  himself  on  top  of  the  water  in 

a  gurgling  and  seething  mass  cf  timbers,  roofs  and   other  debris. 

He  crawled  up  on  one  roof  only  to  have  another  one  thrown  like 

a  blanket  over  him. 
25 


386  dip:d  in  efforts  to  sa\'e  others. 

Thus  lie  struo-orled  for  two  hours  iu  what  was   au  euormous 

o  o 

raft  of  several  hundred  broken  up  houses,  going  before  the  wind, 
being  churned  together  in  a  huge  caldron  by  the  waters.  Whole 
roofs  and  sides  of  houses  were  bobbing,  striking,  sinking,  turning- 
over  and  moving  together  like  chips  in  a  huge  whirlpool.  Words 
can  not  describe  that  awful  scene.  In  it  all  Bropliey  and  hundreds 
of  others  were  struggling  for  their  lives  almost  all  iu  vain.  Dead 
bodies  of  women  and  children  who  had  succumbed  to  the  inevita^ 
]de  in  the  early  part  of  the  storm,  and  men  and  women  whom 
the  waters  had  not  yet  killed,  but  were  plajang  with  like  a  cat 
does  a  mouse  before  hurling  them  into  the  beyond,  were  car- 
ried hither  and  thither. 

DODGING  TIMBERS  IN  THE  WATER. 

Thus  Brophey  struggled,  several  times  giving  up  and  letting 
himself  go  down,  but  rising  each  time  with  a  determination  to 
fight  until  the  bitter  end,  although  terrible  odds  were  against 
him.  After  having  been  in  this  mighty  whirlpool  for  almost  au 
hour,  dodging  huge  timbers,  crawling  on  roofs  and  sides  of 
houses,  being  sucked  under  with  them,  he  saw  a  house  standing. 
With  almost  a  last  effort,  he  struggled  and  fought  his  way  to  a 
window  of  the  house.  There  were  ready  hands  to  pull  him 
through  the  window. 

This  haven  which  saved  his  life,  together  with  a  number  of 
others,  belonged  to  a  negro  and  is  situated  near  Thirty-seventh 
street.  It  was  filled  with  negro  refugees,  and  it  is,  indeed,  to 
their  credit  that  they  struggled  with  such  heroism  to  save 
Brophey  and  several  others  who  drifted  by. 

Getting  into  the  house,  he  threw  himself  on  the  floor,  more 
flead  than  alive,  and  there  remained  until  after  the  ,-torm,  when 
he  was  taken  by  friends  to  the  Tremont  Hotel,  where  he  has 
become  convalescent. 

One  of  the  interesting  features  of  the  story  of  his  terrible 
struggle  is  his  unintentional  rescue  of  a  dog.  Earl};^  in  his  mad 
career  in  that  most  awful  caldron  he  ran  across  a  dog.  From 
that  time  until  his  rescue   it   stayed  with    him,  and  would  not  be 


tHED    IN    KKFORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS.  887 

pusiied  off,  and  at  last  succeeded  in  crawling  into  tlie  window 
after  liira.  He  is  going  to  send  for  the  dog,  and  declares  that 
never  while  he  is  living  will  it  want  for  a  rug  to  sleejD  on  and  a 
bone  to  eat. 

A.  C.  Fonda,  chief  clerk  in  the  Santa  Fe  general  freight 
office,  at  Galveston,  had  a  fearful  experience  during  the  storm. 
He  said  that  on  Saturday  afternoon,  when  it  became  apparent 
that  the  flood  was  going  to  be  ver^^  biigh,  that  he  went  down  to 
his  home  to  remove  the  furniture  from  the  lower  floors  to  the 
upper,  never  dreaming  that  the  effects  of  the  storm  would  be 
more  than  a  flooding  of  the  first  floors  of  residences.  His  famil}^ 
being  awa}^  in  California,  fortunately  for  them,  he  worked  alone 
and  had  about  removed  everything  when  the  water  got  so  high 
that  he  could  not  escape  from  the  house. 

FLOATED  IN   A  TANK. 

He  had  noted  a  large  zinc-lined  wooden  tank  on  the  uppei 
floor,  used  for  holding  water,  and  which  he  thought  might  be 
used  for  a  boat,  when  suddenly  the  crash  came  and  he  knew  no 
more  for  possibl}-  an  hour.  He  recovered  consciousness  to  find 
himself  floating  in  the  tank  on  the  surging  waters,  bruised,  bleed- 
ing and  almost  drowned.  He  managed  to  escape  to  higher 
ground  in  a  short  while  and  crawled  into  a  deserted  house,  where 
he  spent  a  night  of  horror,  suffering  from  his  injuries  and 
momentarily  expecting  death.  As  soon  as  daylight  came  he 
sought  surgical  assistance,  and  then  saw  the  awful  results  of  the 
hurricane's  work.  Mr.  Fonda  is  bruised  all  over,  and  has  a  deep 
wound  on  the  back  of  his  head,  but  no  bones  were  broken  and  he 
is  able  to  be  at  work. 

E.  F.  Adams,  chief  clerk  in  the  Santa  Fe  passenger  depart- 
ment, at  Galveston,  is  also  a  flood  sufferer,  but  happily  his 
family  are  in  St.  Louis  at  present,  and  his  residence,  being  at 
Alvin,  only  suffered  slight  damage.  He  said  that  he  and  fift}^- 
two  others  occupied  the  Santa  Fe  general  offices  on  the  night  of 
the  storm,  and,  in  his  opinion,  ver}^  few  of  them,  if  any,  realized 
the  awfulness  of  the  disaster  uutil   next  day,  as  the  sheet-iron 


•j.S8  DIED    IN    EFFORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS. 

roof  on  the  train  slied  became  loose  early  in  the  evening,  and  the 
tremendons  noise  it  made  in  flopping  np  and  down  prevented 
them  from  hearing  the  crash  of  falling  buildings,  or,  perhaps,  the 
screams  of  drowning  human  beings  during  the  night. 

It  was  only  when  the}^  came  out  next  morning,  Mr.  Adams 
said,  that  he  realized  what  the  storm  meant  to  thousands  in  tliei 
fated  city.  Almost  the  first  object  that  met  his  eyes  v.as  the 
corpse  of  a  child  lying  on  the  sidewalk,  which  staggered  him,  and 
with  the  sickening  sights  afterward  presented  to  his  view,  gave 
him  a  shock  whose  gruesomeness  it  will  take  a  lifetime  to  efface. 

TERRIBLE  EXPERIENCE  OF  A  SURVIVOR. 

A  letter  to  a  ncM^spaper  furnishes  the  following  accountof  the 
terrible  experiences  of  one  of  the  survivors  : 

"I  came  home  from  my  work  Saturday  evening  about  4 
o'clock,  with  Lewis  Fisher.  I  left  Lewis  on  Tremout  street  and 
avenue  O,  where  the  water  was  three  feet  deep.  He  said  he  was 
going  out  to  help  his  people,  and  told  me  good-bye.  So  I  started- 
for  home  to  see  how  my  folks  were.  When  1  got  home  I  found 
my  folks  all  there,  and  the  water  was  then  five  feet  deep.  I  lived 
one  block  from  the  beach.  I  began  to  take  them  out.  Our  front 
steps  had  already  washed  away.  I  took  them  to  S.  Smith's  house 
on  Seventeenth  and  O,  a  big  two-story   house,   thinking  it   would 

be  safe. 

"  But  it  began  to  grow  worse,  so  I  took  my  father,  sister  and 
two  smaller  brothers  on  Nineteenth  and  O,  in  Mrs.  Carlstedt's 
house,  where  there  were  some  thirty  people.  I  told  my  father  to 
take  care  of  the  children,  and  started  back  for  my  mother  and 
brother.  On  my  way  I  met  my  friend,  Gus  Smith,  of  Nineteenth 
and  O,  and  he  told  me  that  he  would  go  with  me  and  help  me  gel 
my  mother  and  brother. 

"It  took  us  an  hour  to  swim  one  block,  and  when  we  got  to 
the  house  it  had  already  been  washed  into  the  street,  and  my  lit- 
tle brother  had  been  washed  outside  and  was  drowning,  but  I  got 
him  in  time  and  took  him  back  inside.  Smith  and  I  went  inside 
and  there  we  found  a  colored  family  and  the  Armour  family,  all 


DIED    IN    EFFORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS.  889 

asking  us  to  take  them  away,  but  it  was  too  late,  as  the  water  was 
then  eight  feet  deep.  Finally,  the  whole  top  of  the  house  blew 
off  and  the  water  was  pouringin,  and  all  the  people  began  to  pray. 
"  The  house  was  twenty-five  feet  high,  and  the  waves  went 
clean  over  it.  Finally  the  whole  thing  fell  in,  and  I  grabbed  my 
mother  around  the  waist  and  Smith  took  my  brother,  and  down 
we  went.  It  was  two  minutes  before  we  had  a  raft  and  were  on 
Eighteenth  street  and  O.  There  were  twenty-eight  in  the  house, 
and  all  we  could  save  were  seven  people,  as  it  was  so  dark  that  you 
could  see  no  one.  We  got  one  little  negro  by  the  name  of  Albert 
of  the  negro  family.  We  sta^^ed  out  on  the  raft  all  night,  without 
a  stitch  of  clothes  on,  and  the  rain  was  something  awful.  It  felt 
like  some  one  was  shooting  buck  shot  at  us  from   a  distance. 

CAPTURED  SOME  BLANKETS. 

"About  2  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  caught  two  trunks  and 
broke  them  open,  and  it  looked  like  a  god-send  to  us,  as  both 
were  full  of  blankets.  We  took  these  blankets  and  covered  the 
-vyomen  and  children,  or  else  I  believe  they  would  have  frozen  to 
death.  About  5  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  got  up  and  started  in 
search  of  my  father  and  sister  and  other  two  brothers,  and  the 
first  thing  I  did  when  I  got  off  the  raft  was  to  step  on  a  dead  body. 

"  I  then  went  a  few  steps  further  and  found  Mrs.  A.  C.  Bell, 
of  Eighteenth  and  O,  and  Mrs.  Junker,  of  O,  between  Sixteenth 
and  Seventeenth  streets,  both  dead.  We  had  come  from  Seven- 
teenth and  Beach  to  Nineteenth  and  N.  Right  across  the  street 
was  Mr.  Sewall's  house,  and  I  went  over  there  to  search  for  the 
rest  of  my  folks  and  found  them  there  all  right,  so  I  went  back 
and  got  my  mother  and  brother  off  the  debris,  and  brought  them 
all  together  once  more. 

"  We  have  lost  everything  we  owned  and  can't  find  a  piece  of 
the  house  or  a  button  off  any  one's  clothes,  but  I  still  have  my 
front  door  key.  My  folks  are  cut  up  pretty  much,  and  so  am  I 
about  the  feet,  but  I  am  going  to  stay  here  and  try  and  make  Gal- 
veston what  it  has  been.  In  the  house  on  Seventeenth  and  O  is 
where  Mrs.  Armour  and  her  five  children  were  drowned." 


390  DIED    IN    EFFORTS   TO  SAVE  OTHERS. 

Another  letter  says  : 

"  I,  together  with  man}^  others,  was  a  passenger  on  the  Hous- 
ton relief  train  last  Tuesda}^,  and  among  the  number  there  was 
one  who  should  have  special  mention.  This  was  Miss  Lillian 
Bleike.  I  am  informed  she  is  the  daughter  of  W.  T.  Bleike,  a 
travelling  salesman.  This  young  lady  was  at  Brenham  when  the 
news  of  the  storm  was  reported,  and  as  everything  on  earth  near 
and  dear  to  her  was  on  the  doomed  island,  she  embarked  upon  the 
first  train  out. 

"  Ladies  were  not  permitted  upon  this  train.  However,  noth- 
ing daunted,  she  boarded  the  relief  train  at  Houston,  and  through 
the  kindness  of  those  in  charge,  was  permitted  to  go.  At 
Lamarque,  all  had  to  foot  it,  and  also  to  assist  in  clearing  the 
debris.  This,  too,  she  would  have  done,  but  was  not  allowed  to  do 
so,  and,  like  a  good  soldier,  footed  it  through  mud  and  slush  to 
Virginia  Point,  boating  it  to  the  city,  determined  to  learn  the  fate 
of  the  loved  and  dear  ones.  I  have  since  learned  her  family  was 
saved,  and  what  a  happy  reunion  this  must  have  been.  For  pluck 
and  courage,  the  adventures  of  this  young  lady  stand  among 
the  few.  ' 


CHAPTER   XX. 

The  Storm's  Murderous  Fury — People  Stunned  by  the  Stag- 
gering Blow — Heroic  Measures  to  Avert  Pestilence  — 
Thrilling  Story  of  the  Ursuline  Convent. 

T  THILE  the  story  of  Galveston's  woe  can  never  be  told,  yettne 
\lSl  demand  naturally  should  be  that  as  much  shall  be  told  as 
the  human  mind  is  capable  of  telling.  The  man  does  not 
live  now,  and  the  man  never  lived  who  could  draw  the  picture  in 
all  its  horrible  details.  The  greatest  of  poets  sang  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Troy.  Tacitus,  and  later  other  historians,  have  told  of  the 
deeds  of  the  madman  Nero.  The  contests  between  Marius  and 
Sulla  have  filled  pages  through  all  time.  The  destruction  of  Pom- 
peii has  been  vividly  described  by  novelists  and  historians. 

The  PVench  revolution,  with  its  September  and  August  mas- 
sacres, its  ravages,  and  its  other  fiendish  details,  have  been  in  the 
hands  of  Carlyle  and  a  score  of  French  writers  ;  the  Gordon  riots 
have  been  described  by  Dickens — but  never  a  poet  or  historian  or 
novelist  has  drawn  anything  near  as  shocking  a  pictu'.e  of  any 
event  in  the  past  as  this  stern  and  frightful  realit]^  . 

Nearly  every  event  of  die  past  which  has  shocked  humanity 
came  about  through  contests  between  men.  But  men  tire  and  men, 
however  bitter,  at  last  will  abate  their  anger.  In  this  case  it  was 
helpless  humanity  on  the  one  side.  In  this  case  it  was  terrible 
nature  in  all  its  fury  and  strength  on  the  other.  There  could  be 
no  appeal  for  mercy,  because  the  winds  have  no  ears.  There  was 
no  resistance,  because  the  arms  of  the  waters  were  those  of  a  giant 
demon.  There  were  appeals,  but  they  were  directed  above  the 
storm.  There  were  struggles,  but  they  were  simply  those  of  the 
drowning.     Those  who  survived  were  incoherent  to  a  great  degree. 

The  wind  shrieked  ;  it  did  not  whistle  as  winds  do.     They  all 

agi  ee  on  that.     The  air  was  filled  with  spray,  a  blinding   spray 

which   affected  the  nostrils  and  throat    and    begat   an  inordinate 

thirst.     It  was  dark.     Yet  it  was  light.     They  all  agree  on  that. 

891 


BU2  THE   STORM'S  MURDEROUS   PURY. 

Was  there  a  moou  ?  No  one  saw  it.  Yet  even  late  at  viiglit  they 
could  se^  the  clouds  in  the  sky.  The  light,  they  say  was  a  silvery 
one — a  sort  of  sheen — a  strange,  and  3^et  to  all  a  fearful  kind  of 
light.  Only  one  person  ventured  an  explanation.  vShe  said  the 
air  was  filled  wiih  the  finest  spray,  and  that  this  was  phosphor- 
escent.    There  is  something  in  this  idea. 

HOUSE    ROCKED    LIKE    A    CRADLE. 

Did  the  wind  blow  straight  away  or  come  in  gusts  ?  Here  they 
differ  again.  One  man  told  me  that  his  house  rocked  as  a  cradle 
rocked  by  a  mother  getting  her  half-sleeping  child  to  sleep.  Dr. 
Fly  described  how  it  blew  in  a  way  to  be  understood.  He  was  in 
the  Tremont  Hotel,  a  brick  structure.  He  said  that  while  it  blew 
hard  all  the  tinae  gusts  would  come  every  few  seconds  and  the  wind 
took  the  strong  building  in  its  teeth  then  and  shook  it  like  a  ter- 
rier would  shake  a  rat. 

There  is  sitting  out  on  the  mainland,  not  far  from  Texas  City, 
a  dredger  which  was  employed  about  the  wharves  at  Galveston. 
This  vessel  is  a  mile  and  a  half  or  two  miles  from  the  water  now. 
One  of  the  men  aboard  told  me  that  the  boat  was  anchored  with  a 
steel  rope.  The  Kendall  Castle,  a  large  iron  steamer,  dragged  her 
anchor  across  this  steel  rope  and  cut  it  as  a  thread. 

"  On  my  word,"  said  the  man  who  told  me  this,  "  the  moment 
the  steel  rope  was  cut  the  dredger  seemed  lifted  in  the  air,  and  it 
appeared  scarcely  a  minute  till  she  was  where  she  is  now." 

The  vessel  had  been  carried  for  miles  in  that  short  period. 
Atid  there  is  nothing  unreasonable  in  the  story.  The  wind  gauge 
at  the  office  of  the  Weather  Bureau  showed  eighty-seven  miles  an 
hour  when  it  went  out  of  business.  They  believe  it  blew  loo 
miles  an  hour  after  that.  The  people,  before  their  houses  fell 
aboui  their  ears,  nailed  up  their  window  shutters  and  doors  because 
no  door  latch  and  no  windowpane  ever  made  could  stand  the 
strength  of  the  wind.  Every  one  knew  that  once  the  wind  entered 
the  house,  that  moment  the  walls  would  be  blown  in  every  direc- 
tion. No  i-:\o  fought  against  the  water.  It  was  the  wind  they  put 
their  feeble  efforts  against. 


THE   STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY.  3D3 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  storm  began  to  become  serious 
early  in  the  afternoon,  and  hence  no  one  had  undressed  for  bed 
when  the  climax  came.  The  female  survivors,  or  at  least  those 
who  were  upon  the  waters,  came  out  naked.  I  asked  a  lady  whether 
it  was  the  waves  or  the  flying  timbers  that  did  it.  She  said  it  was 
the  wind.  "  Why,  on  the  raft  with  me  and  my  baby  was  a  colored 
woman.  The  raft  seemed  to  me  to  be  the  ceiling  of  a  house  because 
it  was  white.  We  had  to  lie  as  flat  on  it  as  we  could  without 
placing  our  faces  in  the  water.  The  colored  woman  became  tired 
and  raised  in  a  half-sitting  posture.  The  moment  she  did  it  the 
wind  stripped  her  of  every  stich  of  clothing." 

CLOTHES  TORN  TO  SHREDS. 

The  men,  too,  were  deprived  in  a  great  measure  of  theii 
clothes,  but  not  to  the  extent  of  the  women.  Their  clothes  were 
torn  from  them  now  and  then  by  the  wreckage,  but  nearly  all  the 
corpses  had  on  some  garment.  The  reason  of  this  was  probably 
that  the  women's  apparel  was  of  weaker  texture.  People  ask  why 
the  people  did  not  move  when  the  storm  came  from  unsafe  houses 
to  safe  houses.  The  answer  is  twofold.  In  the  first  place,  death 
was  on  them  before  the}^  realized  their  danger.  The  Galveston 
mind  had  for  years  been  firmly  convinced  that  Galveston  Island 
and  Galveston  houses  could  weather  any  storm. 

An  illustration  of  this  confidence  is  in  order.  A  woman  who 
lived  at  one  of  the  numerous  corner  groceries  said  the  water  was 
almost  to  her  neck  before  she  left  her  place.  She  waded  to  the 
house  of  a  near  neighbor,  w^here  many  of  the  people  in  the  locality 
had  assembled,  because  all  thought  it  a  perfectly  safe  house,  as  it 
proved  itself  to  be.  Here,  she  said,  they  chatted  and  even  joked  as 
the  building  rocked  in  the  hands  of  the  storm.  When  the  people 
saw  that  their  lives  were  in  danger,  it  was  then  too  late  to  tr}'  for 
other  houses.  They  remained  where  they  were  till  the  buildings 
cither  fell  and  parts  were  being  torn  away  and  they  were  assured 
that  they  would  soon  fall. 

The    air  was   filled   with   every  conceivable  missile.       Great 
beams  and  sleepers  of  houses  went  through  the  air  like  arrows. 


394  THE  STORM'S   MURDEROUS  FURY. 

vSlates  from  the  rcofs  hurtled  over  the  heads.  One  of  these  would 
have  cut  off  the  head  of  a  man  as  easily  as  a  guillotine.  There 
are  thousands  of  mangled  and  wounded  people  in  the  town.  One 
poor,  fellow  was  picked  up  alive  at  Texas  City.  He  was  cut  in 
fifty  places  on  his  body.  The  tendons  of  his  arms  and  legs  were 
exposed.  Others  were  hacked  as  if  they  had  been  laid  down  and'i 
scored  as  cooks  score  their  meats.  One-half  the  dead,  perhaps, 
were  relieved  of  their  agony  through  these  missiles  of  the  storm. 

CRUSHED    BY    A    PIECE    OF  TIMBER. 

One  poor  woman  was  carrying  her  child  and  its  head  was 
crushed  by  a  piece  of  timber.  It  did  not  even  whimper,  yet  she 
carried  the  dead  infant  at  her  breast  for  three  long  hours  before  it 
was  torn  from  her  grasp.  When  one  sees  the  debris  piled  twenty 
feet  high,  in  many  places  on  the  backbone  of  the  island — that  is, 
along  Q  street,  running  east  and  west — and  when  one  sees  the 
broad  prairies  for  miles  and  miles  covered  with  the  wreckage  that 
came  from  Galveston  across  the  bay,  the  wonder  with  him  will  be 
that  anything  out  on  the  waters  that  fearful  night  escaped  to  look, 
not  tell,  the  story  of  that  fearful  night.  For  few  can  tell  it ;  all 
look  it. 

Something  of  the  strength  of  the  winds  and  waves  can  be 
known  when  it  is  stated  that  along  the  beach  at  Texas  cities  I  saw 
dead  turtles  even.  Fish  floated  dead  in  the  bay.  They  may  have 
come  from  some  wrecked  fishing  smack,  and  I  am  inclined  to  take 
this  view  of  it,  but  there  they  were,  covering  a  large  space  with 
their  dead  bodies.  There  were  thousands  of  rats  floating  about. 
I  saw  even  dead  snakes  along  the  shores.  The  chickens  which 
lined  the  beach  along  the  mainland  were  entirely  denuded  of  their 
feathers.  Not  a  buzzard  or  bird  was  to  be  seen.  Not  a  mosquito 
was  heard.     The  wind  had  carried  all  winged  things  away. 

Down  in  some  parts  of  the  debris  the  planks  and  beams  and 
sills  of  houses  had  been  thrown  together  with  such  force  that  they 
were  driven  into  each  other  and  made  as  solid  a  mass  as  the  most 
skilled  workmen  could  join  two  pieces  of  timber.  The  foreman  of 
one  of  the  working  gangs  said  it  was  impossible  to  remove  certain 


THE   STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY.  395 

portions  of  the  mass  except  by  clipping  it  av/ay  with  axes  or  hy 
burning  it.  If  such  a  wind  had  struck  Dallas  or  any  other  town 
in  the  State,  it  would  not  have  lasted  a  moment. 

Another  thing  I  have  been  asked  by  the  people  of  the  interior 
was  why  the  resort  to  the  ocean  as  a  burial  ground  was  had,  and 
why  burning  was  afterward  resorted  to.  When  day  broke  after 
that  night  of  horror,  the  people  could  not  realize  the  immensity  ol 
their  woe.  It  required  but  a  short  time  for  them  to  know  it.  The 
first  on  the  streets  were  the  first  greeted  by  the  corpses. 

They  fled  hither  and  thither,  wringing  their  hands.  Others 
stood  still  and  stared  in  a  dumb  way.  Some  cooler  citizens  sug- 
gested that  the  bells  be  rung  and  the  people  assembled  to  grapple 
with  the  situation.  And  lo,  there  was  not  a  bell  in  town  to  sound 
the  alarm.  It  was  suggested  that  the  steam  whistles  be  blown. 
And  lo,  there  was  not  a  whistle  with  steam  to  give  it  note  on  all 
the  island.  Then  they  went  up  and  down  the  streets,  crying, 
''  Fall  in,  people  ;  for  God's  sake,  fall  in."  They  got  a  few  people 
together  in  this  way.  As  the}^  had  gone  about,  more  corpses 
appeared. 

THE    NUMBER    GROWS    LARGER. 

What  should  be  done  with  them  ?  Strange  to  say,  the  sug- 
gestion was  made  that  in  .nests  must  be  held  on  the  bodies  and  the 
law  complied  with.  But  the  corpses  began  to  grow  larger  in  num- 
ber. Inquests  now  were  no  'onger  discussed.  Those  who  could 
work  began  to  gather  the  dead  bodies  and  carry  them  to  the  under- 
taker shops.  There  was  confusion,  but  all  were  doing  their  best. 
The  purpose  now  was  to  place  the  dead  in  cofiins.  But  the  number 
increased.  The  idea  was  abandoned  because,  simply,  it  could  not 
be  done.  Seven  hundred  putrid  bodies  were  piled  up  in  the  build- 
ing.    Something  must  be  done. 

Then  it  was  suggested  that  they  be  taken  to  the  sea.  The 
substitute  was  offered  that  they  be  burned.  But  where  burn  the 
latter  ?  It  could  be  done  on  the  beach  where  the  debris  was,  but 
how  get  there?  Every  street  running  across  tlie  island  to  the 
beach  was   blocked.      The  substitute  suggestion  was  abandoned. 


396  .'  THE  STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY. 

But  how  get  the  bodies  to  the  sea  ?     Then  it  was  that  the  law  was 
laid  aside. 

Martial  law  was  declared  in  fact,  whether  according. to  law  or 
not.  Men  armed  themselves  and  went  on  the  streets  in  posses. 
They  captured  negro  men  and  forced  them  to  take  hold  of  the 
bodies.  Whisky  was  poured  into  them  —argument  was  made  to 
them.  They  were  nauseated  with  the  work,  but  more  whisky  was 
poured  into  them.  Thc}^  piled  the  bodies  on  floats  and  drays  and 
every  kind  of  vehicle  and  thus  took  them  to  the  wharf. 

A  GHASTLY    SPECTACLE. 

Here  they  were  placed  on  barges.  The  poor  living  creatures, 
wild  with  liquor,  beastialized  by  it,  because  they  could  not  have 
done  it,  embarked  with  the  putrifying  cargo.  The  white  men 
retched  and  vomited.  The  negroes  did  the  same.  Yet  more  work 
had  to  be  done  and  now  they  pleaded  for  whisky  to  dull  them 
more  for  their  horrible  work.  It  was  given  them.  No  man  in  all 
the  world  can  tell  of  the  horrors  of  this  trip.  Those  who  were  not 
wild  shrunk  in  agony  from  it.  Those  who  were  mad  stumbled 
over  the  corpses  and  laid  with  them  in  drunken  stupor — but  be- 
yond the  jetties  the  cargo  was  tossed  into  the  sea. 

It  is  cl?imed  that  they  were  sunk  with  weights.  This  may  be 
partly  true.  This  disposition  of  the  corpses  was  found  imprac- 
ticable. The  work  was  too  slow.  The  sea  would  give  up  its  dead. 
As  time  passed  the  difficulty  of  transporting  the  bodies  became 
greater.  Then  the  burning  began.  The  corpses  wherever  found 
were  burned  on  the  spot.  If  the  fire  might  be  dangerous  they 
were  pulled  to  an  open  space. 

Where  several  were  found  in  close  proximity  they  were  placed 
together  for  the  final  act.  Kerosene  was  poured  over  them.  Planks, 
lumber,  anything  combustible  Avere  placed  upon  them  and  the  torch 
applied.  The  incineration  was  never  complete  enough  to  com- 
pletely destroy  the  bones.  But  the  flesh,  breeding  a  pestilence, 
was  gone.  Many  were  buried.  But  the  graves  were  only  deep 
enough  to  receive  the  bloated  bodies.  The  sand  was  full  of  water. 
Graves  could  be  dug  no  deeper  than  as  mentioned. 


THE  STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY.  .'197 

A  sliudder  will  go  through  the  world  when  some  one  propeily 
tells  of  how  the  beloved  ones  found  their  last  resting-place.  For  it 
is  horrible  to  think  of  disposing  of  human  corpses  in  this  way, 
But  what  could  be  done  ?  What  else  ?  Nothing — absolutely 
nothing,  except  what  was  done.  The  dead  threatened  the  living. 
Even  if  the  living  had  desired  to  flee  from  the  dead,  which  they 
did  not,  they  could  not  have  done  so — but  on  an  island  were  the 
living  and  the  dead.  There  were  no  vessels  to  run  from  the  island 
to  the  mainland.  There  were  no  railroads  or  bridges.  The  hot 
snn  beat  down  and  qnickly  decomposed  the  bodies.  The  bruised 
and  maimed  could  not  work.  What  could  be  done  ?  Nothing  but 
what  was  done.  'Twas  a  sad  and  horrible  thing,  but  it  was  charity 
for  the  dead  to  do  it,  and  preservation  to  the  living  to  do  it. 

It  is  utterl}'  unreasonable  for  one* to  think  that  the  people  of 
Galveston  and  the  workers  in  the  cause  of  cleaning  can  proceed 
rapidly.  Not  oul}'  is  it  a  task,  but  it  is  a  task  which  has  condi- 
tions existing  which  are  new  to  the  people  engaged  in  the  work, 
and  they  cannot  work  with  the  energy  which  is  their  wont. 

FULL    LIST    CANNOT    BE    KNOWN. 

As  to  the  dead,  as  stated  before,  how  the  full  list  will  be  ever 
known  is  hard  to  sa}^  There  are  places  in  the  city  where  fot 
blocks  and  blocks  not  a  house  remains,  and  no  one  can  give  an 
instance  of  having  seen  a  resident  of  the  localit}^  since  the  fur}^ 
of  the  storm  was  spent.  Whole  families  were  swept  out  to  sea,  and 
the  survivoi-s  of  the  calamity  are  too  busy  with  their  own  and  the 
work  which  must  be  done  to  remember  whom  they  knew  when  the 
Island  Cit}^  was  in  its  prime.    . 

Another  point  in  the  matter  of  the  dead  is  that  there  were 
many  visitors  in  the  city  at  the  time  whose  names  have  never  been 
reported  either  in  the  list  of  the  living  or  of  the  dead.  Possibh' 
few  people  knew  they  were  here,  and  in  the  confusion  incident  to 
the  days  following  the  storm  those  who  were  cognizant  of  the 
presence  of  these  visiters  have  been  too  bus}^  to  think  of  the 
stranger  in  the  land. 

It  is  true  that  a  clew  to  uiissing  people  is  gained  by  the  in- 


898  THE  STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY. 

quiries  of  anxious  friends  or  relatives,  and  these  queries  are 
answered  either  ''  dead"  or  "  alive."  But  remember  that  in  every 
city  in  the  country  there  are  a  certain  number  of  people  who  are 
unknown  beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  home. 

In  this  class  also  can  be  included  many  colored  people.     Col- 

.ored  people  always  know  each  other,  but  it  is  in  mau}^  instances 
that  they  know  nothing  of  surnames.     There  are  servants  whose 

.  names  are  not  known  be3'ond  Mar}^  or  Liza  or  b}^  whatever  appel- 
lation they  are  addressed,  and  it  is  possible  that  a  great  many  of 
these  have  been  lost,  increasing  the  number  of  dead,  but  never  get- 
ting upon  the  roll  of  those  who  were  so  suddenly  swept  away. 

STORY    OF    URSULINE. 

The  Ursuline  Convent  and  Academy,  in  charge  of  the  Sisters 
of  St.  Angeli,  proved  a  haven  of  refuge  for  nearly  looo  homeless 
and  storm-driven  unfortunates.  The  stories  of  this  one  night 
within,  the  convent  walls  read  like  the  wildest  dream  of  a  novelist, 
but  the  half  can  never  be  told.  Bvery  man,  woman  and  child 
who  was  brought  to  the  convent  or  drifted  there  on  the  raging 
torrent  could  tell  of  an  experience  that  would  be  well  worth  its 
publication. 

The  convent,  with  its  many  associate  buildings,  cottages,  etc., 
occupies  four  blocks  of  ground  extending  from  Avenues  N  to  O, 
•and  Rosenberg  avenue  to  Twenty-seventh  street.  The  grounds 
are,  or  rather  were,  surrounded  b}^  a  teurfoot  brick  wall  that  has 
withstood  the  severest  storms  in  Galveston's  history  up  to  the 
destructive  hurricane  that  swept  the  island  last  Saturda}^  night. 
This  wall  is  now  a  crumbled  mass  of  brick  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  small  portions  that  stand  like  marking  pillars  to  show  where 
the  property  line  should  be. 

No  one  was  refused  admittance  to  the  sheltering  institution 
on  this  night  of  nights.  Negroes  and  whites  were  taken  in  without 
■  question,  and  the  asylum  thrown  open  to  all  who  sought  its  pro- 
tecting wings.  Angels  of  mercy  went  through  the  army  of 
sufferers  whispering  words  of  cheer,  offering  what  scant  clothing 
could  be  found  in   this  house  of  charity  and  calmly  admonishing 


THE  STOKM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY.  39i 

the  terror-stricken  creatures  to  have  faith  in  God  and  saj^  that  His 
holy  will  be  done. 

In  contrast  with  this  quiet,  saintl};-  and  loving  spirit  of  the 
nuns,  the  hundred  or  more  negroes  grew  wild  as  the  storm  raged, 
and  shouted  and  sang  in  their  camp-meeting  style  until  the  nerves 
of  the  other  refugees  were  shattered  and  a  panic  seemed  imminent. 
It  was  then  that  Mother  Superioress  Joseph  rang  the  chapel  bell 
and  caused  a  hush  of  the  pandemonium.  When  quiet  had  been 
restored  the  Mother  addressed  the  negroes  and  told  them  that  it  was 
no  time  nor  place  for  such  scenes ;  that  if  they  wanted  to  pra}'' 
tlie}^  should  do  so  from  their  hearts,  and  that  the  creator  of  all 
things  would  hear  their  offerings  above  the  roar  of  the  hurricane 
which  raged  with  increased  fury  as  she  spoke  to  the  awe-stricken 
assemblage. 

A    SOLEMN    CEREMONY. 

The  negroes  listened  attentively,  and  when  the  saintl}^  woman 
told  them  that  all  those  who  wished  to  be  baptized  or  resign  them- 
selves to  God  might  do  so,  nearl}^  every  one  of  them  asked  that 
the  sacrament  be  administered. 

The  panic  had  been  precipitated  by  the  falling  of  the  north 
wall  or  that  section  of  the  building  in  which  the  negroes  had  sought 
refuge.  Order  and  silent  prayer  were  brought  about  by  this  noble 
woman's  sweet  determination  and  great  presence  of  mind. 

Families  that  had  been  separated  by  this  merciless  and  devas- 
tating conflict  of  the  elements  were  united  by  the  cruel  waters  of 
the  gulf  tossing  them  into  this  haven  of  refuge.  What  scenes, 
what  heart-bleeding  pictures  these  unions  presented  as  the  half- 
dead,  mangled  and  bruised  wretches  were  rescued  and  dragged 
from  the  raging  waters  by  the  more  fortunate  members  of  their  own 
iiamily,  mourned  as  victims  of  the  storm. 

The  academy  was  to  have  opened  for  the  fall  session  on  Tues- 
day, and  fort3Kwo  boarding  scholars  from  all  parts  of  the  State  had 
arrived  at  the  convent  preparatory^  to  resuming  their  studies  on 
that  day.  The  community  of  nuns  comprises  forty  sisters  and 
they,  too,  were  there  administering  cheer  and  deeds  of  mercy  to  the 


400  THE   STORM'S  MURl)]',ROUS  FURY. 

sufferers,  maii}^  of  whom  were  more  dead  than  alive  when  brought 
into  the  shelter.  Early  in  the  storm  when  people  dragged  them- 
selves or  swam  to  the  convent  and  asked  for  protection  an  attempt 
was  made  to  keep  a  register  of  the  unfortunates. 

Their  register  reached  nearly  a  hundred  names  and  then  the 
storm-driven  humans  began  to  arrive  at  the  shelter  in  crowds  of 
twent}^  and  thirty.  They  were  taken  in  through  the  windows  and  ^ 
some  were  dragged  through  five  feet  of  water  into  the  basement, 
which  long  since  had  been  abandoned,  by  ropes  from  treetops  and 
snatched  from  roofs  and  other  wreckage  as  it  was  hurled  in  the 
maddening  torrents  through  the  convent  yards. 

LIVING    TO    TAKE    PLACES    OF    THE    DEAD. 

Within  this  religious  home  and  in  cells  of  the  nuns  four  babies 
came  into  this  world.  Four  mothers  who  had  braved  the  treacher- 
ous elements  and  were  snatched  from  the  jaw^s  of  tragic  death  la}' 
on  cots  in  the  nuns'  cells  and  four  little  innocents  came  into  this 
world  of  sorrow  where  the  world  looked  the  blackest.  Trul}'  it 
could  not  be  said  that  the  quartette  of  precious  ones  first  saw  the 
light  of  day  in  the  cell  of  a  nun  on  this  eventful  night.  It  was  the 
darkest  and  most  terrible  night  in  the  lives  of  their  mothers,  and 
yet  the  mingled  sadness  and  joy  attending  the  birth  of  these 
angels  was  beyond  the  power  of  man  to  describe. 

Mother  Joseph,  in  speaking  of  the  incidents  of  the  night 
within  the  convent  walls,  said  she  believed  it  w^as  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  the  world  that  a  baby  had  been  born  in  a  nun's  cell 
in  a  convent.  And  they  were  christened,  for  no  one  expected  tc 
live  to  see  the  light  of  da}^,  and  it  was  voted  that  these  jewels 
should  not  leave  the  world  they  had  just  entered  without  baptism. 
Regardless  of  the  religious  belief  of  the  parents,  a  house  dedicated 
to  God  and  charity  had  afforded  shelter  to  the  storm-victim  moth- 
ers, and  they  felt  in  their  hearts  that  the  good  sisters  should  ad- 
minister the  baptism,  which  is  administered  in  time  of  great  danger, 
the  presence  of  clergymen  not  being  required. 

The  names  of  the  mothers  and  the  children  could  not  be 
learned,  with  the  exception  of  Mrs.  William  Henry  Heldemau,  who 


THE  STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY.  401 

was  one  of  tlie  mothers,  and  whose  new-born  baby  was  christened 
William  Henry.  The  experiences  of  this  mother,  if  they  conld  be 
rednced  to  words,  would  read  like  the  wildest  fiction.  Only  a  chap- 
ter was  learned,  as  told  by  Mother  Joseph.  Mrs.  Heldeman  was 
thrown  on  the  mercies  of  the  storm  when  her  home  went  down 
and  >vas  swept  away.  The  family  had  been  separated  when  they.* 
started  to  abandon  their  home  to  the  greed  of  the  battling  storm. 

When  Mrs.  Heldeman  was  carried  away  on  the  roof  of  a 
wrecked  cottage  she  lost  all  trace  of  the  other  nembers  of  the  family, 
but  never  lost  faith  and  courage.  The  roof  struck  some  obstruc- 
tion, and  the  next  instant  Mrs.  Heldeman  was  hurled  from  her 
improvised  raft  and  landed  in  a  trunk  which  was  rocked  on  the 
surging  waters.  Crampled  up  in  the  trunk,  the  poor  woman  was 
protected  to  a  limited  extent  and  was  afforded  much  warmth.  On 
went  the  trunk,  tossed  high  on  the  treacherous  sea,  bumping 
against  driftAvood,  until  the  crude  bark  was  hurled  against  the 
Ursuline  Convent  walls  and  was  hauled  into  the  building. 

CLEARING   THE    STREETS. 

The  following  report  of  the  situation  at  Galveston  bears  date 
of  September  17th  :  The  work  of  clearing  the  streets  of  debris 
and  wreckage  is  progressing  steadily  and  with  systematic  rapidity. 
The  military  authorities  have  gradually  perfected  the  system  and 
divided  the  labors  so  that  there  is  comparatively  no  interrupt  :ou  or 
delay  in  the  gigantic  undertaking. 

To-day  the  reports  filed  at  General  Scurry's  headquarters  up 
to  9  o'clock  to-night  reported  the  recovery  and  disposition  of  but 
fort3''-five  bodies.  A  reporter,  who  made  the  rounds  of  about 
twent}^  g^-iigs  in  charge  of  removing  debris,  noted  the  finding  of 
130  bodies  of  men,  women  and  children  and  this  report  is  known 
to  be  incomplete  for  the  day's  work. 

City  Health  Officer  Wilkinson  stated  that  he  estimated  that 
40  per  cent,  of  the  debris  of  every  description  had  been  removed, 
from  the  streets  ;  that  95  per  cent,  of  the  dead  bodies  had  been  dis- 
posed of,  and  that  95  per  cent,  of  the  carcasses  of  animals  had  been 

removed  from  the  city.     But  as  the  work  of  removing  debris  goes 
2G 


402  THE   STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY. 

on  more  bodies  are  being  uneartlied  every  hour.  Tbere  is  still  an 
immense  amount  of  work  to  be  done  in  this  respect  and  in  some 
quarters  hardl}^  an  impression  has  been  made  in  the  mountains  of 
wreckage  piled  up  fifteen  and  twenty  feet  high. 

Still  the  gruesome  work  of  recovering  the  dead  from  the  gigan- 
tic mass  of  debris  that  lines  the  south  side  of  what  remains  of  the 
city  goes  on.  Yesterday  107  bodies  were  recovered  and  cremated. 
Among  them  was  a  mother  with  a  baby  tightly  clasped  to  her 
breast.  As  the  body  of  the  mother  was  moved  the  body  of  the 
baby  rolled  off.  In  this  imperative  necessity  of  the  dispatch  of  the 
dead  tragic  scenes  are  witnessed  that  move  the  stoutest  hearts. 

THE    INDESCRIBABLE    SUNDAY    SERVICES. 

The  body  of  Major  W.  T.  Levy,  United  States  Immigrant 
Agent  of  this  district,  was  among  the  number.  He  made  a  gallant 
struggle  to  save  his  wife  and  three  children.  All  were  lost,  and  the 
bodies  of  the  wife  and  children  have  not  been  recovered.  They  are 
still  among  the  uniuterred  dead,  and  when  found  will  be  disposed 
of  as  the  father  and  husband  has  been. 

What  pen  can  describe  the  religious  service  on  Sunday  ?  Houses 
of  worship  ruined,  congregations  scattered  and  in  despair,  yet  all 
those  who  survived  gathered  in  impromptu  temples  and  in  sorrow 
and  grief  prayed  for  loved  ones  gone,  and  in  humble  thanksgiving 
offered  up  their  hearts  for  their  own.  preservation.  The  scene  at 
the  little  chapel  in  St.  Mary's  University  was  pitiful  in  the  extreme, 
the  Sacred  Heart  Church  lying  in  ruins,  the  Jesuit  fathers  threw 
open  their  private  chapel  to  those  who  formerly  worshipped  in  this 
once  magnificent  church.  Within  this  meagre  little  chapel  none 
could  for  a  moment  lose  sight  of  what  now  existed  here ;  many  of 
ihose  who  received  the  commimion  from  the  priests'  hands  know 
no  home  other  than  this  same  building ;  children  came  to  this 
sacrifice  of  the  mass  bare-footed  and  hatlcss,  even  their  expressions 
showed  the  awe  struck  feeling  which  shrouded  all. 

At  the  low  mass  no  sermon  was  preached,  no  word  spoken,  all 
prayer  was  in  silence,  nothing  but  the  words  of  the  mass  was 
heard,  as  each  heart  poured  forth  in  feeling  deep  and   still   their 


'11  IK   STORM'S  MURDEROUS   FURY.  403 

thanksgiving.  Tlie  environments  there  each  told  the  sad,  sad 
story.  On  the  lower  floor  of  this  chapel  were  the  destitute  waiting 
for  the  food  snpply  to  be  given  them,  this  in  itself  the  saddest 
picture  the  miseries  of  life  can  sketch.  On  the  same  floor  with 
the  chapel  are  the  priests'  rooms,  now  the  hospital  wards,  every- 
where the  sick  being  tended  by  skillful  hands,  looked  wistfully  at 
the  passer-by.  Thus  in  this  one  corner  of  the  university,  the 
whole  effect  of  the  traged}'  is  enacted  ;  the  hungry,  the  homeless, 
the  ill,  and  above  all  these  earthly  miseries,  the  kneeling  before 
the  throne  of  God  in  submission  and  prayer. 

A    GLORIOUS    RECORD. 

There  has  yet  to  come  to  light  any  tale  of  brutalit}^ ;  those 
who  spent  the  night  of  the  storm  battling  the  waves  never  wit- 
nessed a  selfish  act ;  this  in  itself  is  a  glorious  record  to  hallow  the 
event.  Man  after  man  secure  in  his  own  house,  hearing  the  cr}^ 
for  help  plunged  outin  the  fur}'  to  rescue  the  helpless  ones  ;  often- 
times this  was  attended  with  loss  of  life  to  the  rescuer.  There 
was  no  question  of  kin  or  color  that  awful  night,  the  ties  of  a  com- 
mon sorrow  united  all,  and  not  only  was  man  wath  his  intellect  and 
strength  the  courageous  one^ ;  children  who  could  have  been  rescued 
would  not  be  taken  from  their  loving  ones,  and  as  for  the  mothers 
who  sought  death  with  their  little  ones  such  tales  as  these  are  as 
manifold  as  the  waves  of  the  sea. 

Nor  were  the  humbler  animals  forgotten,  many  instances  are 
known  where  men  wading  waist  deep  in  water  holding  their  wives 
and  children  above  the  water,  found  hands  somewhere  for  the 
household  dog.  One  young  lad}',  a  society  girl,  when  forced  to 
abandon  her  home  gave  no  thought  to  silken  finery  and  jewels, 
but  waded  in  water  nearl}-  to  her  shoulders  holding  fast  in  her 
tirms  a  large  sized  sky-terrier.  Nor  was  this  devotion  only  from 
'-nan  to  animal,  it  was  equal  if  only  all  were  known. 

One  dog,  we  call  him  "  Hero,"  as  there  is  none  to  tell  us  other- 
wise, is  truly  a  hero  worthy  the  Legion  of  Honor.  This  four-footed 
hero  is  a  small-sized  Newfoundland,  and  in  the  storm  he  was  cast 
adrift  on  Seventh  and  Broadway,  with  his  master,  an  old  gentleman 


404  THE   srORM'o  MURDEROUS  FURY. 

about  sevent}^  years  of  age.  Around  Hero's  neck  is  a  stout  black 
collar ;  to  this  the  old  gentleman  clung.  Hero  did  the  rest,  he 
swam  pulling  along  his  old  master  from  Seventh  to  Fourteenth 
streets,  where  the}^  found  a  house  standing  with  veranda  piled  with 
debris  but  intact,  and  into  a  sheltered  corner  cf  this  the  dog 
dragged  the  man  for  safety.  Both  were  alive,  the  old  gentleman 
was  much  bruised,  but  his  mind  was  active,  and  his  only  grief 
was  for  the  loss  of  his  wife  and  daughter,  for  save  the  dog  he  had 
no  one. 

A    DOG'S    DEVOTION. 

Kind  hands  did  for  him  all  that  could  be  done,  and  while 
feeble  and  heart-broken  he  appeared  to  suffer  no  pain.  The  dog 
never  left  him  there,  the  two  throughout  that  fateful  Sunday  clung 
together.  Toward  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  old  man,  still  sit- 
ting in  a  rocking-chair,  covered  in  blankets,  no  dry  bed  being  avail- 
able, appeared  drowsy.  This  was  only  natural  from  fatigue  and 
age,  but  when  the  head  gently  bent  forward  it  was  the  sleep  of 
death.  ^  However,  such  a  gentle  passing  away  of  the  soul  could  not 
be  termed  by  such  a  harsh  name ;  it  was  more  a  caress,  in  whicl 
the  transition  of  the  soul  was  wafted  from  the  body. 

The  dog  all  these  hours  had  nestled  close  to  the  old  man's  feet 
under  the  blanket,  never  sleeping,  but  guarding  carefully  the 
master.  When  the  feet  became  cold,  then  the  four-footed  hero 
scented  trouble.  He  tried  to  lie  on  them  with  his  body.  This  not 
answering,  he  licked  the  cold  feet ;  still  no  warmth.  Then  he 
sprang  into  the  rocking-chair  in  which  the  corpse  sat,  carefull}' 
covered  in  sheets,  tried  to  warm  the  body  by  covering  it  as  much 
as  possible  Math  his  own  shaggy  hair.  By  force  the  dog  had  to  be 
taken  away  and  locked  up,  for  in  his  instinct  he  scented  something- 
wrong  with  the  old  man  and  strove  to  make  things  right  by  suppl}-- 
ing  the  warmth  of  his  own  body.  Such  scenes  as  this  old  man's 
beautiful  death  and  the  dog's  deep  devotion  are  among  the  sublime 
lessons. 

Photographers  are  hourly  taking  views  of  the  ruins.  How- 
ever, there  is  a  picture  about  the  debris  wdiich  demands  a  sketch  to 


THE   STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY.  405 

itself.  The  Sacred  Heart  Church  before  the  storm  had  in  the  right 
aisle,  near  the  altar,  erected  to  the  mother  of  Christ,  a  large  cruci- 
fix affixed  to  a  pillar.  Now  all  the  sides  of  this  church  are  demol- 
ished save  where  this  crucifix  in  this  pillar  stands  and  the  crucifix 
untouched.  It  is  a  sight  not  to  be  forgotten  to  see  this  image 
of  the  Man  of  Sorrows  looking  down  upon  the  ruin  everywhere. 

THE    WORST    EXPERIENCES. 

Naturally  one  would  say  that  the  living  through  the  experi- 
ence of  the  storm  was  the  worst  part  of  the  catastrophe,  but  those 
who  had  their  families  here  but  were  themselves  away  affirm  that 
the  suspense  and  anxiety  they  underw^ent  to  learn  the  fate  of  their 
loved  ones  could  not  have  been  worse.  Mr.  Frank  Gresham  shows 
this.  He  was  at  Cornell  College  when  the  news  that  Galveston 
had  been  swept  off  the  earth  reached  him.  At  first  these  reports 
seemed  exaggeration,  but  when  the  truth  becaiue  known  the  Gal- 
vestonian  became  panic-stricken.  Mr.  Gresham  tried  to  commu- 
nicate with  his  family,  but  as  no  word  was  received,  his  fears  grew 
worse. 

Deeming  it  not  a  time  for  thinking,  but  action,  he  came  south 
immediately.  En  route  he  said  the  fast  trains  which  make  no  stops 
would  wait  two  or  three  hours  for  Galveston  people,  and  trains 
having  passengers  for  this  city  had  the  right  of  way  over  all  lines. 
The  sight  of  this  panic-stricken  crowd,  eager  to  reach  home  or  hear 
of  friends  and  family  was  pitiful  indeed. 

At  St.  Louis  one  lady,  already  in  heav\^  mourning,  was  greeted 
with  a  telegram  saying  her  entire  family  had  been  washed  away, 
and  thus  it  was  all  along  the  road.  Several  ladies  personally 
known  to  Mr.  Gresham  were  on  the  train,  but  all  were  in  tears  from 
nervousness  and  anxiety.  Words  of  recognition  were  hardly 
exchanged ;  it  was  a  case  where  the  heart  was  too  full  for 
utterance. 

Two  Galvestonians  were  on  the  Mallory  steamer  from  New 
\  urk  which  came  in  Saturday,  after  having  been  abroad  since  June. 
The  news  of  Galveston's  disaster  did  not  reach  the  boat  till  they 
touched   Key  West.     Up  to  this   time   all  was  joy  on   board,  but 


406  THE  STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY. 

when  the  news  was  received  the  vessel  seemed  to  drag  until  this 
port  could  be  reached.  The  passengers  tried  to  wire  from  Key 
West  to  some  one  in  Houston  for  information,  but  were  greeted 
with  the  information  that  there  were  thousands  ahead  of  them  and 
no  word  could  be  received. 

THE    RESPONSE    FOR    RELIEF. 

Thus  the  suspense  had  to  be  borne  till  the  pilot  reached  the 
boat,  and  at  this  junction  only  the  confirmation  of  their  worst  fears 
were  realized.  Only  the  passengers  who  were  Galvestonians,  all 
of  whom  agreed  to  work  upon  their  arrival,  were  allowed  to  come 
in;  the  others  were  sent  to  Texas  City,  from  which  place  they 
reached  their  various  homes.  The  papers  show  how  letters,  tele- 
grams and  cables  are  daily  coming  in  b}^  thousands;  also  how  the 
whole  world  has  responded  to  the  cry  for  help.  Even  the  actors  in 
New  York,  Philadelphia  and  all  the  large  cities  gave  performances 
for  the  benefit  of  the  sufferers. 

One  lady  writes  to  a  newspaper  as  follows  :  "  While  so  many 
deeds  of  heroism  shown  during  this  late  storm  are  being  told  I 
deem  it  one  of  my  greatest  privileges  to  be  able  to  mention  the 
names  of  Mr.  Clark  Fisher,  Mr.  Sam  Robertson  and  Mr.  Clarence 
An  glen,  who,  by  their  daring  and  courage,  so  heroically  saved  my 
family  of  six  ladies  with  their  large  raft  on  Bast  Avenue  I,  during 
the  fiercest  part  of  the  storm.  We  had  drifted  with  our  house 
until  it  had  become  dismembered  and  then  were  thrown  upon  the 
mercy  of  the  waves  and  strong  current.  These  young  gentlemen 
all  cleverly  proved  by  their  coolness  and  bravery  what  was  in 
them." 

Another  lady  writes  :  "  September  8,  at  about  4  o'clock,  things 
began  to  be  alarming  at  my  place,  at  Seventeenth  and  O,  and 
houses  were  leaving  before  that.  I  hoped  my  little  home  was  an 
ark.  It  proved  to  be  until  the  water  began  to  pour  wildly  into  the 
windows.  I  and  an  old  man  named  Inco,  who  rented  a  rear  room- 
from  me,  got  over  the  stair-casing  and  climbed  until  our  heads 
were  ?.t  the  ceiling.  He  said  to  me  :  '  We  die  here  together  ;  good 
bye.' 


THE  STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY.  407 

"  At  the  same  moment  the  house  separated.  I  climbed  over 
the  door  through  the  transom  and  on  to  the  roof,  thence  from  one 
timber  to  another,  always  keeping  to  the  top.  A  dog  always  kept 
by  me  and  caused  me  a  great  struggle.  It  was  about  Twentieth 
street  and  0}4  that  something  hit  my  head,  which  seemed  either 
,Xo  give  me  courage  or  ease.  I  remember  laying  my  head  down  on 
the  raft  and  felt  indifferent. 

"  About  4  o'clock  the  next  morning  I  rejoiced  to  see  where  the 
gulf  and  island  separated.  I  was  resting  not  extremely  uncom- 
fortable at  the  top  of  drifts  of  a  two-story  house  at  Twenty-fifth 
and  beach.  Some  Italians  came  along,  looked  unconcernedly  at 
me.  They  were  hunting  someone  and  went  on.  I  still  halloed 
until  I  heard  Mr.  Beekman,  who,  with  assistance,  took  me  to  a 
house.     They  could  find  nothing  to  cover  me,  but  gave  me  whisky. 

"  Then  came  Mr.  Womack,  who  left  nothing  undone  to  make 
me  safe.  He  carried  me  over  lumber  on  a  board,  with  bUnket  and 
pillows,  to  his  rooming  house.  From  there  I  was  taken  to  the 
Sealy  Hospital,  with  the  two  blankets  and  pillows." 

THE    AWFUL    STORY. 

The  following  from  the  columns  of  a  well-known  journal  has 
a  mournful  interest : 

"In  Galveston  there  is  mourning;  in  the  city  by  the  sea 
there  is  sobbing  and  tears.  When  the  young  of  us  have  grown 
old,  when  they,  in  their  turn,  are  grand'thers,  when  a  century  of 
years  has  drifted  past  as  sea-wreck  drifts  will  the  legend  of  Gal- 
veston be  told  and  retold  again,  and  white-faced  children,  clinging 
to  the  granddames'  robes,  will  listen  to  the  story  of  how  the  storm- 
god  came  in  rage,  and  how  the  gulf,  beaten  by  his  thong,  rushed 
in  and  did  his  bidding.  They  will  hear  the  awful  story  that  will 
never  die,  the  tale  of  how  the  tempest  and  the  tide  slew  men  as 
pestilence  slays ;  slew  praying  women  and  prattling  babes  as 
Herod  slew  the  boy-children  twenty  centuries  ago;  will  hear  of 
how  the  sea,  that  once  calmed  at  the  Maker's  word,  made  wnr  on 
the  orphan's  home,  as  if  he  who  said  'Suffer  little  children  to  conic 
unto  me,'  had  repented  of  his  bargain. 


408  THE  STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY. 

"  Men  strive  for  tlie  art  of  remembering — lo,  now  we  beg  tliat 
some  great  magician  may  teach  ns  how  to  forget.  To  forget  the  hor- 
ror of  it  all ;  and  the  sobbing  and  the  prayers.  To  forget  the  wail  of 
the  mother  bereft  of  her  yonng,and  women's  prayers  that  came  echo- 
ing back  from  the  flint}^  sky.  To  forget  the  death  strnggles  of  the 
^  legion  of  the  dead,  and  the  cries  of  '  Mamma!  Mamma!'  as  the 
screaming  little  ones  were  sncked  into  the  throat  of  the  tide.  To 
forget  that  the  sweet-voiced  nnns  bonnd  the  charity  orphans 
together  in  lots  and  committed  them  to  the  care  of  God — to  forget 
that  the  reaper  came  with  the  storm  in  his  heart  and  the  salt  spray 
in  his  beard  and  gathered  them  by  sheaves.  Do  not  talk  of  conso 
lation — there  is  none.  Try  to  forget.  Mnffle  your  clamoring 
church  bells — their  noisy  songs  blend  illy  with  the  screams  of 
despairing  mothers  beating  their  breasts  and  calling  to  their  dead. 
To-day  your  prayers  are  useless,  and  the  solemn  organ's  mellow 
tide  can  be  freighted  only  with  a  requiem  for  the  lost.  O,  for  the 
sadness  of  it  all ;  and  the  sobbing  and  the  tears ;  for  the  cries  of 
women  and  the  thunder  of  the  tide ;  for  the  shouting  of  men  and 
the  burials  in  the  sea. 

LABORERS'    HEROIC    WORK. 

Under  date  of  the  i8th  the  condition  of  the  city  was  stated  to 
be  as  follows  : 

Slowly  but  surely  the  streets  are  assuming  a  decent  appearance, 
and  in  a  few  days  all  evidence  of  the  storm  on  the  streets  of  the 
business  district  will  have  been  removed.  A  large  force  of  men 
are  working  systematically,  and  the  beneficial  result  is  shown  in 
every  quarter.  The  greatest  amount  of  wreckage  is  piled  high 
along  the  beach  and  for  several  blocks  inland,  where  hundreds  of 
homes  fell  victims  to  the  rush  of  waters  and  devastating  hurricane 
that  swept  that  portion  of  the  city  bare.  The  amount  of  debris  in 
the  district  extending  from  the  extreme  eastern  end  of  the  island  to 
dhe  western  city  limits,  and  even  be3^ond  that  point,  is  incalculable. 
and  the  manner  in  which  the  storm  packed  this  long  ridge  of 
wreckage  challenges  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  army  of  laborers 
engaged  in  its  removal. 


THE   STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY.  409 

But  great  progress  has  been  made  and  is  being  made.  The 
work  cannot  be  described  in  words,  even  as  the  devastation  wrought 
by  the  awful  storm  defies  description.  One  must  visit  the  scene 
and  note  the  progress  of  the  work  in  order  to  gain  an  intelligent 
idea  of  what  it  was  and  what  is  being  done. 

MORE    VICTIMS    EVERY    HOUR. 

As  the  force  of  wreckers  make  inroads  into  the  mountains  of 
debris  the  bodies  of  more  victims  are  unearthed  every  hour.  And 
the  end  is  not  yet.  A  most  conservative  estimate  of  the  dead  and 
missing  is  enough  to  prove  that  the  wreckage  yet  undisturbed  will 
reveal  several  hundred  more  dead  v/ho  perished  in  the  storm. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  at  least  200  or  300,  perhaps  many  more, 
bodies  were  carried  to  sea,  and  that  the  number  of  bodies  recovered 
and  to  be  recovered  and  accounted  for  will  fall  short  of  the  actual 
number  of  creatures  who  were  hurled  into  eternity  while  the  storm 
raged. 

The  record  kept  shows  that  ninety-eight  bodies  were  reported 
as  having  been  dug  from  the  ruins  yesterday.  But  it  is  known 
that  this  record  is  not  a  complete  list  of  the  bodies  found  and  dis- 
posed of.  For  the  first  three  days  after  the  storm  bodies  were 
found  by  the  score  and  disposed  of  by  the  parties  finding  them. 
Some  of  these  persons  kept  a  sort  of  record.  Others,  acting  upon 
the  impulse  of  the  moment  and  what  the}^  deemed  their  duty, 
stopped  in  their  search  along  the  beach  to  bury  the  poor  unfortu- 
nates whom  they  found  in  and  about  the  ruins  and  debris. 

Several  important  orders  were  issued  from  military  headquar- 
ters, Brigadier-General  Scurry  commanding.  The  most  important, 
perhaps,  to  the  general  public  was  an  order  which  decrees  that  heroic 
measures  are  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  health  of  the 
community.  It  is  ordered  that  all  persons  occupying  houses  within 
one  block  of  debris  which  is  presumed  to  contain  dead  bodies  will 
have  to  vacate  the  premises  temporarily. 

This  step  has  been  taken  by  the  military  authorities  in  charge 
of  the  city  after  deliberate  consideration  and  consultation  with  the 
Board  of  Health  and  tlie  general  committee  charged  with  looking 


410  THE  STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY. 

after  the  general  welfare  of  the  citizens.  Camps  will  be  estab- 
lished and  comfortable  quarters  provided  for  all  those  who  will  be 
subjected  to  this  ruling,  and  ample  notice  will  be  served  upon  the 
tenants  of  such  houses.  It  is  not  compulsory  that  all  such  persons 
must  accept  tent  accommodations,  as  it  will  be  discretionary  with 
them  to  move  into  some  other  house  or  other  premises  awa}'-  from 
the  forbidden  district. 

ADVISED    TO    LEAVE    THE    CITY. 

In  this  regard  it  may  be  well  to  call  attention  to  the  advice 
given  early  in  the  present  military  regime  that  all  those  who  can 
leave  the  city  should  do  so ;  especially  does  this  apply  to  women 
and  children.  A  month  away  from  the  scenes  of  the  calamity 
would  prove  beneficial  to  their  general  health,  and  would  greatly 
aid  in  facilitating  the  work  of  cleaning  the  city  and  putting  it  in  a 
thorough  sanitary  condition.  A  man  who  knows  his  family  is  en- 
joying good  health  away  from  Galveston  can  do  better  work  at 
home  nnder  existing  conditions.  Should  anj^  of  his  family  be 
taken  sick  here  at  home,  he  would  necessarily  be  compelled  to  give 
them  his  time  and  attention,  and  this  would  greatly  interfere  with 
the  progress  of  the  good  work  so  laudably  commenced. 

Another  important  order  issued  was  one  which  establishes  a 
cattle  corral,  where  idle  cattle  and  horses  will  be  cared  for  and  fed 
and  used  in  public  service  if  the  emergency  requires.  There  are 
a  large  number  of  unclaimed  and  strayed  stock  running  at  large 
about  the  city.  A  number  of  cows  have  been  picked  up  by  people 
who  out  of  compassion  for  the  suffering  beasts  fed  and  cared  for 
them.  Several  cases  have  been  reported  where  families  leaving 
the  city  after  the  storm  turned  their  stock  and  horses  loose  on  the 
streets,  or,  strictl}^  speaking,  who  in  their  haste  to  leave  the  city, 
failed  to  collect  their  stock  which  had  strayed  away  during  the 
storm. 

The  work  under  the  direction  of  the  Health  Department  is 
pushed  with  vigor.  All  the  departments  are  working  systematic- 
ally and  doing  all  that  is  possible  under  the  circumstances.  As 
fast  as  disinfectants  arrive  they  are  being  distributed  over  the  city, 


THE   STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY.  411 

and  large  quantities  are  arriving  daily.  Over  a  carload  were  taken 
from  the  wharves  3^esterday  and  sent  to  the  Health  Depaitment's 
supply  depot,  and  almost  as  much  was  taken  from  that  place  and 
distributed  over  the  city.  As  fast  as  it  can  be  done  the  city  is  be- 
ing placed  in  a  thoroughly  sanitary  condition.  Much  was  don<^/ 
yesterday  in  the  way  of  removing  debris  and  disposing  of  animal 
remains. 

The  sick  and  wounded  are  receiving  the  best  of  treatment,  and 
the  facilities  are  such  now  that  any  one  needing  medical  treatment 
can  have  it  by  letting  the  fact  be  known.  Besides  the  other  hos- 
pitals and  medical  relief  stations  already  in  service,  the  marine 
hospital  and  refugee  camp  was  opened "  up  yesterday  afternoon  and 
is  in  shape  to  care  for  a  large  number  of  patients.  A  number  of 
those  able  to  travel  have  been  taken  from  the  hospitals  and  sent  in 
the  revenue  cutter  and'by  other  means  of  transportation  to  Hous- 
ton and  other  relief 'stations  on  the  mainland.  In  all  the  outlook 
from  a  health  standpoint  is  ver}^  encouraging. 

ANXIOUS    ABOUT    THE    CITY'S    HEALTH. 

The  Auxiliary  Board  of  Health  met  at  the  usual  time  and 
place  on  the  i8th  with  almost  all  the  Board  present.  President 
Wilkinson  called  the  meeting  to  order,  and  after  it  had  been  de- 
cided to  waive  the  regular  order  of  business  and  dispense  with  the 
reading  of  the  minutes  and  the  reports  from  the  committees.  Dr. 
Trueheart  offered  the  following  resolution  and  moved  that  it  be 
adopted  : 

"Be  it  resolved  by  the  Board  of  Health  and  the  Auxiliary 
Health  Board  of  the  city  of  Galveston,  General  Thomas  Scurry  in 
command,  concurring,  that  the  surgeon  in  charge  of  each  and  every 
hospital,  permanent  or  temporary,  and  all  camps  and  one  and  all  of 
the  medical  relief  stations  for  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  within 
the  corporate  limits,  are  hereby  instructed  and  empowered  to  proceed 
without  delay  to  thoroughly  cleanse,  disinfect  and  place  in  as  per- 
fec-t  sanitary  condition  as  practicable  their  respective  hospitals,  sta- 
tions or  camps  and  the  premises  thereof  for  the  care  of  the  wounded 
and  sick,  and  they  are  hereby  authorized  to  send  in  requisitions  to 


412  THE  STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURY. 

tlie  proper  department   for  such   disinfections,  etc.,  as   ma}^  be   re 
quired,  and  empowered  to  secure  the  services,  by   impressment  or 
otherwise,  of  such  labor,  implements  or  vehicles  as  may  be  found 
necessary  to  fully  carry  out  this  order.      This  is  to  be  done  without 
delay." 

The  resolution  was  adopted  and  arrangements  were  made  to 
carry  it  into  immediate  effect. 

RESTORATION    OF    GALVESTON. 

An  intelligent  and  well-posted  citizen,  writing  to  the  leading 
journal  of  the  city,  expressed  the  following  sentiments  : 

"  The  restoration  of  Galveston  is  a  question  which  does  not 
alone  interest  the  people  of  the  stricken  city,  but  all  Texas  as  well. 
The  discussion  now  going  on  is  not  confined  to  Galveston,  Ijut 
is  on  the  lips  of  every  public-spirited  citizen  of  the  State.  The 
preponderance  of  opinion  among  the  people  of  the  interior  is  that 
the  city  will  be  rebuilt  or  restored  upon  a  scale  of  magnificence  and 
stability  far  superior  to  anything  it  has  ever  known.  There  are 
some,  however,  who  express  the  opinion  that  it  would  be  worse 
than  a  waste  of  energy,  enterprise  and  money  to  do  so,  for  the 
reason  that  it  is  liable  to  be  swept  away  at  any  time.  This  opinion 
is  fallacious  in  the  extreme. 

"We  are  not  prepared  to  give  precise  historical  data  in  sup- 
port of  the  assertion,  but  crossing  the  limits  of  the  circle  in  which 
only  exact  information  is  contained,  and  invading  the  circle  in 
which  conclusions  are  only  reached  by  a  system  of  reasoning,  it 
can  be  quite  confidently  asserted  that  the  island  of  Galveston  has 
been  standing  since  the  waters  of  the  flood  receded  from  the  earth, 
and  quite  likely  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  though  it 
has  been  swept  by  a  thousand  storms,  tossed  by  a  thousand  tidal 
waves  and  deluged  a  thousand  times  by  rains,  it  still  stands 
securely  where  the  Almighty  Creator  placed  it  a  million  and  per- 
haps a  billion  years  ago. 

"  To  successfully  maintain  tlie  assertion  that  the  island  will 
be  ultimately  swept  away,  it  is  necessary,  first,  to  prove  the  asser- 
tion that  the  storm,  or  tidal  wave,  that  will   do  the  work  will  be  a 


THE  STORM'S   MURDEROUS  FURY.  413 

thousand  times  more  furious  than  any  the  world  has  heretofore 
known.  Any  attempt  to  support  either  proposition  is  absurd.  It 
is  admitted,  however,  that  the  assertion  that  the  island  has  been 
standing  since  the  flood,  or  is  a  part  of  the  original  creation,  is  a 
theory,  and  worth  no  more  than  any  other  theory  started  from  a 
proper  predicate,  but  Galveston  island  has  been  known  for  more 
;:han  400  years,  and  has  a  fairly  well-authenticated  history  since 
1542.  In  1541  De  Soto  is  said  to  have  landed  on  the  Texas  coast 
near  the  island,  established  a  base  of  operations  and  penetrated  the 
interior  as  far  as  the  present  site  of  the  town  of  San  Marcos. 

"  After  his  death  a  part  of  his  exploring  force  settled  on  Gal- 
veston island  in  1542,  and  constructed  some  kind  of  fortifications 
to  protect  themselves  from  the  Indians  and  Spanish  pirates  or  free- 
booters. This  was  358  years  ago.  This  undisputed  historical  fact 
proves  beyond  question  that  the  Spanish  pirates  and  the  American 
Indians  were  acquainted  with  the  island  before  De  Soto's  men 
established  themselves.  Just  how  long  is  not  known,  but  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  island  strip  may  be  contemporaneous  with  the  exist- 
ence of  the  aborigines  of  America  that  were  here  during  the  ex- 
jDlorations  of  the  Norsemen,  who  made  several  voyages  in  the  ninth 
century,  1000  years  ago.  In  1585,  while  La  Salle  was  cruising 
around  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  he  mentions  having  lost  a  man  in 
the  Malign  (Brazos)  River,  and  it  is  therefore  very  probable  that 
he  touched  at  Galveston  island. 

A    MATTER    OF    HISTORY. 

"In  1 715,  Governor  Casparro  Awaya  established  the  Orquis- 
aco  mission  on  Galveston  bay  and  made  a  thorough  exploration  of 
the  island.  In  1816  the  Mexican  envoy  to  the  United  States, 
General  Herrera,  and  Commodore  Ansy  took  formal  possession  of 
Galveston  island  in  the  name  of  the  Mexican  republic,  and  from 
that  time  until  now  the  history  of  the  island  is  a  connected,  well- 
authenticated  story,  and  as  much  is  known  of  its  climate,  soil, 
products,  temperature,  rainfall,  wind  storms,  etc.,  as  any  part  of 
Texas.  At  that  time  the  island  was  much  lower  than  now,  much 
of  it  a  mere  marsh,  entirely  unprotected  by  improvements,  and  a 


414  THE  STORM'S    MURDEROUS  FURY. 

thousand  times  more  liaule  to  be  swept  b}^  storms  than  now,  and 
still  it  stood,  and  still  stands. 

"  When  Commodore  Ans}'  abandoned  the  island,  Lafitte  suc- 
ceeded him  in  possession  and  held  it  until  1821.  Lafitte's  descrip- 
tion of  its  topography  agrees  with  Commodore  Ansy's  in  ever}' 
essential,  and  both  state  much  of  tbe  area  was  marsh}^  and  low- 
Ijang,  and  unfit  for  settlement.  Is  there  any  man  who  will  assert 
that  during  the  past  eight3^-eight  years  the  altitude  and  stability 
of  the  island  has  not  been  constantly  improved  or  increased  ?  If 
such  is  the  case,  and  truth  forbids  its  denial,  the  conclusion  is 
unavoidsible  that  Galveston  island  ma}'  be  crossed  by  howling 
tornadoes  ever}-  week,  but  it  is  just  as  secure  as  any  part  of  Texas 
from  destruction. 

MANY  DESTRUCTIVE  AGENCIES. 

"  In  the  excitement  and  for  the  moment  men  forget  that  there 
is  au}'  other  element  or  power,  except  water,  that  destroy  towns, 
when  in  fact  the  cities  of  the  interior  have  suffered  more  destruc- 
tion from  C3'clones  and  storms  than  all  the  towns  on  the  Texas 
coast  from  Sabine  Pass  to  Brazos  Santiago.  Fort  Worth  is  as  liable 
to  destruction  as  Galveston.  In  fact  insecure  residences  in  ever}^ 
section  of  the  country  is  a  harvest  for  fires,  floods  or  cyclones,  as 
was  demonstrated  in  Chicago,  Boston,  New  York,  'Cisco,  Sherman, 
Piano  and  scores  of  cities  and  towns  in  texas  as  well  as  other  states 
during  the  past  decade. 

"  In  the  present  deplorable  disaster  in  Galveston  the  lament- 
able loss  of  life  was  brought  abou' ,  not  from  its  hazardous  or  in- 
secure location,  but  largely  on  account  of  the  unstable  character  of 
the  buildings.  True,  some  fine  structures  were  demolished,  but 
such  was  also  the  case  in  Brenham,  Hempstead,  Houston  and 
Alvin.  In  Brenham  100  houses  were  blown  to  pieces  ;  of  these 
;'L  half  dozen  were  substantial  1}^  built.  Kye-witnesses  state  that 
about  the  same  proportions  hold  good  in  Galveston  and  about  the 
same  conditions  prevail. 

'Nearly  every  island  cit}^  on  earth,  in  its  earl}^  life,  has  suf- 
fered just  as  Galveston  has  suffered.      People  attracted  b}^  business 


THE  STORM'S  MURDEROUS  FURV.  415 

opportunities  would  rusli  iu,  and  rush  up  cheap,  insecure  and  tem- 
porary residences,  only  to  be  devoured  by  the  flame  or  swept  from 
the  earth  by  the  first  blast.  New  York,  Liverpool,  Edinburg  and 
other  coast  cities  suffered  iu  this  way,  and  learned  lessons  from 
such  sad  experiences  that  made  them  prosperous,  stable  and  great. 
So  will  Galveston. 

"  Many  who  passed  through  the  recent  storm  will  leave,  but 
commerce  knows  no  such  thing  as  an  insurmountable  obstacle. 
The  commerce  of  the  West  demands  the  port ;  Galveston  will  be 
rebuilt,  by  new  people  largely,  seeking  and  embracing  the  business 
opportunities  offered.  Lots  will  be  staked  out,  houses  more  sul)- 
stantial  in  structiire  erected.  The  whole  Atlantic  Ocean  might  roll 
over  New  York  and  it  would  roll  oft'  again,  leaving  the  cit}-  un- 
scathed. Manhattan  island  originally  was  no  more  secure  than 
Galveston  island,  and  Galveston  island  in  time  will  be  rendered  just 
as  safe  as  Manhattan  is  to-day." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Unparalleled  Bombardment  of  Waves — Wonderful  Courage 

Shown  by  the  Survivors — Letter  From 

Clara    Barton. 

A  VISITOR  to  Galveston  thus  gives  his  impressions  on  the 
1 2th  da}^  after  the  great  flood  : 

"  For  two  daj^s  after  the  great  catastrophe,  the  people  of  the 
city  of  Galveston  were  stunned.  The^^  seem  to  be  dazed.  It  is  a 
remarkable  thing  that  there  were  no  signs  of  outward  grief  in  the 
way  of  tears  and  groans  to  mark  the  miser}^  that  raged  in  the 
breasts  of  the  people.  Onl}^  when  some  person  who  was  thought 
to  have  been  dead,  appeared  to  a  relative  living  who  had  mourned 
for  him  or  her,  were  there  an}^  tears.  There  was  a  callousness 
about  all  this  that  attracted  the  attention  of  those  who  had  just 
come  to  the  unfortunate  place.  There  M'as  a  stoicism  in  it.  But 
it  was  unexplainable.  It  indicated  no  lack  of  appreciation  of 
what  had  occurred. 

"  It  demonstrated  no  lack  of  aftection  for  those  who  had  gone. 
Nature,  generous  in  this  instance,  came  to  their  relief  in  a  wa}'- 
and  made  them  dull  to  the  seriousness  of  what  had  occurred,  to 
an  extent  which  prevented  them  from  becoming  maniacs.  For, 
if  the  grief  which  comes  to  a  mortal  when  he  loses  a  dead  one, 
had  come  to  this  whole  communit}^,  the  island  would  have  been 
filled  with  raving  maniacs.  In  case  of  individual  losses,  there  is 
alwaj'S  some  one  near  to  give  consolation.  Had  the  grief  came 
to  the  whole  island,  there  could  have  been  no  consolation,  for 
every  soul  on  it  had  lost  in  some  way  that  which  was  dear  to  it. 

''  'The  case  is  just  like  the  afterthoughts  of  those  who  have 
participated  in  a  great  battle,'  said  an  old  soldier  to  me.  'If  a 
popular  man  was  lost  on  the  picket  line,  there  were  tears  for  him, 
but  when  the  time  came  for  all  to  be  mowed  down,  the  horror  of 
it  dulled  the  sensibilities  of  those  who  survived.' 

"  I  was  talking  to   an   estimrjble   and   bright   woman   on  the 

416 


WONDERFUL   COURAGE   OF   SURVIVORS.  417 

subject.  Slie  had  lost  members  of  her  family,  though  not  imme- 
diate ones.  She  said  to  me  :  'I  study  myself  and  am  overcome 
at  myself.  I  know  what  has  happened.  I  know  the  losses.  I 
have  lost  some  of  the  members  of  my  family,  though  they  are 
not  blood  kin.  I  have  lost  the  dearest  friends  of  my  life.  And 
3'et  I  have  not  shed  a  tear.  ]\Iy  eyes  are  hot.  I  would  give  au}'- 
thing  to  cry,  but  it  looks  as  if  the  fountains  were  dried.  I  am 
ashamed  of  my  seeming  indifference  to  this  horrible  thing  and 
the  loss  of  those  who  were  so  dear  to  me.  But  I  cannot  cry.  I 
know  that  I  suffer,  but  it  looks  so  cruel  to  sit  here  with  dry  eyes 
and  without  any  other  evidence  of  the  deep  sorrow  that  fills  my 
bosom.' 

'  I  talked  to  one  man  and  asked  him  how  many  people  he 
had  lost.  He  had  saved  his  daughter  and  her  child.  All  the 
rest,  amounting  to  three  souls,  were  gone.  But  the}^  were  dr}^ 
He  spoke  in  a  low  voice,  but  it  did  not  tremble.  He  was  ago- 
nized— I  saw  that — but  his  mind  was  unable  to  grasp  the  true 
meaning  of  his  loss,  and  when  he  had  finished  he  asked  if  I  had 
a  match  about  me. 

THE    SAME   BELL. 

"  Up  to  Thursda}^  night  there  had  been  no  sleep  in  .ne  city. 
True,  exhausted  nature  had  thrown  men  and  women  and  children 
on  their  beds  and  they  had  closed  their  eyes  and  the  physical 
strain  had  been  to  some  degree  relieved,  but  the  mental  strain 
was  still  at  the  breaking  point.  One  man  said  that  on  Thursday 
morning  he  was  awakened  b}^  the  convent  bell  summoning  the 
living  to  mass.  It  was  the  same  bell  that  had  rung  or  tinkled  in 
the  tone  since  the  day  of  the  storm. 

''  He  bounded  from  his  bed  a  new  man.     He  was  hopeless  the 

day  before.     He  had  seriousl}^  thought  of  abandoning  his  house, 

which  he  believed  be3^ond  repair,   but  when   he  looked  at  it  on 

Thursday  morning  it  did  not  look  so  badly.     He  resolved  to  fight 

it  out.     He  went  and  found  others  like  himself— resolved  to  fight 

it  out. 

"Thursday   night's    sleep    made    the  people   a  new   people. 
27 


418  WONDIvRKUL    COURAGE   OF  SURVIVORS. 

The  difterence  in  their  look  and  deportment  from  that  of  the  day 
before  was  observed  b}^  ever^^one.  The  streets  were  filled  with 
them,  when  on  the  da}^  before  the  streets  were  silent  of  all  except 
those  who  had  the  horrible  work  of  taking  care  of  the  dead  on 
their  shonlders.  Now  women  could  be  seen  talking  to  women. 
They  met  on  the  corners  in  the  residence  portion  of  the  town  and 
told  their  adventures.  The  men  began  to  discuss  the  future. 
By  lo  o'clock  the  town  was  up  and  buoyant.  The  effect  of  that 
one  night's  sleep  was  marvelous.  There  was  no  longer  any  talk 
of  abandoning  tlie  town.  Galveston  should  be  greater  than  Gal- 
veston hri<l  ever  been.     That  was  on  the  lips  of  ever3^onp- 

GALVESTON  SAFER  THAN   EVER. 

"  On  Frida}^  I  would  not  have  given  $io  for  the  place.  On 
Thursda}'  I  wonld  have  given  more  for  a  lot  than  I  would 
have  given  before  the  deluge  and  storm.  Why?  Because  the 
pluck  of  the  people  came  out  through  that  night  of  rest,  Galveston 
should  be  greater  than  it  had  ever  been.  That  is  what  they  said. 
Galveston  was  safer  than  before  by  the  island's  weathering  such 
a  storm.  That  is  what  they  said,  too.  They  began  to  talk  of 
their  ov/n  pluck.  We  have  stood  so  much,  but  the  world  will 
say  that  we  stood  it  well.  If  we  can  do  as  we  have  done  in  such 
a  trial,  what  can  not  we  do  in  the  battle  of  life  ?  Galveston  shall 
be  rebuilt. 

"Galveston  shall  be  the  greatest  of  toAvns.  Hurrah  for  G^al- 
veston  !  Thus  they  talked  and  went  about  their  work  of  throw- 
ing up  breastworks  against  disease  by  cleaning  the  town.  Thou- 
sands of  the  people,  negroes  as  well  as  whites,  went  about  the 
work  of  burning  the  dead  and  cleaning  awa}^  the  debris.  Thej 
asked  nothing  about  wages,  even  those  who  had  no  property 
They  had  begun  the  fight.  It  was  evident  that  they  intended  to 
keep  it  up.  The  cold,  calculating  speculator  would  have  had 
something  to  stud}'  over  if  he  had  seen  these  people  as  I 
saw  them  the  day  after  their  one  night's  rest.  Well,  there  \va^ 
nothing  wild  in  their  determination.  The  island  has  not  a  break 
in  it. 


\voni)i:!>:fi:i.  courack  oi'  sUR\i\'()i;;s.  419 

"There  is  a  stor}-  of  iiiiHions  of  feet  being  torn  from  it  aud  cast 
into  tlie  sea.  Tliis  stor}-  may  be  true  if  applied  to  some  part  of 
tlie  island  wliicli  I  did  not  visit.  But  where  I  went  it  is  not  true. 
There  was  erosion.  That  was  to  be  expected.  Hrosion  would 
have  come  from  a  far  less  storm  than  this.  I  have  seen  a  com- 
mon "rise"  on  the  Ohio  River  carry  away  more  dirt  than  this 
storm  carried  from  Galveston  Island  into  the  Gulf.  The  people 
of  the  interior  know  where  the  old  Beach  Hotel  stood. 

"  They  know  where  the  chimney  of  that  house  was  built. 
The}^  know  how  far  it  was  from  the  beach.  They  will  understand 
the  work  of  erosion.  I  stated  that  the  brick  of  that  chimney  is 
not  in  the  water.  The  piling  on  which  the  hotel  was  built  are  in 
some  places  in  the  water.  In  fact,  according  to  ni}^  observation, 
the  erosion  at  this  point  has  not  been  above  300  feet.  I  went  to 
the  east  end  of  the  town  and  to  the  west  end  of  it.  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  island  is  no  greater  an3^where  that  I  saw  than  at  the 
the  location  of  the  hotel  mentioned. 

PREDICTIONS  OF  DISASTER. 

'For  years  and  years  people  have  said  that  when  the  right 
kind  of  storm  came  the  island  v/ould  sink  under  it  or  be  washed 
away  like  a  house  of  cards  in  a  flood.  It  was  supposed  that  the 
great  currents  w^hich  .would  rush  across  tlie  island  would  dig 
bayous  as  deep  as  the  ba}-.  These  would  grow  in  width,  and 
finally  the  great  island  would  be  cut  into  small  ones,  if  it  did  not 
disappear'  beneath  the  waves.  But  tlie  result  of  this  greatest 
storm  on  record  ?  Why,  there  is  not,  as  far  as  I  could  hear,  and 
I  made  inquiries,  a  single  excavation  made  from  the  Gulf  to  the 
bay  or  the  ba}-  to  the  Gulf.  The  island  stands  there  in  all  things, 
except  in  the  matter  of  the  erosion  mentioned,  as  stable  and  firm 
as  it  has  ever  been  since  man  knew  it.  That  is  enough.  The 
foundation  is  there.  Man  can  do  most  any  thing  with  a  proper 
foundation. 

"The  only  need  now  is  stable  and  the  right  kind  of  houses. 
The  old  houses  seem  to  have  stood  the  shock  better  than  the  new 
ones.     The  reason  of  this  is   apparent.      The  old  ones  were  built 


420  w(;ndkrful  courage  of  sur\mvors. 

with  an  eye  to  storms.     The  new  ones  were  bnilt  in  book   times. 

One  yonng  fellow  told  me  that  his  house,  the  one  in  which  he  was 

born,  had  stood  the  storm  of  1875  and  every  storm  since  that  time 

without  a  quiver. 

' '  And  it  would  have  stood  this  one  had  it  not  been  for  one 

thing,'  he   said.      '  That  thing  was  the   outward  flow  of  the  tide 

when  the  storm  was  over.     The  water  rushed  back  to  the  sea  like 

a  torrent.     It  fell  over  a  foot  and  a  half  in  fifteen  minutes,  and  as 

it  went  out  it  sw^ept  many  a  house  from  its   foundations.'     This 

flow,  running  like  a  torrent,  swept  across  the  island,  and  3^et  there 

was  not  left   a  single   evidence  in  the  way  of  excavations  of  it,^ 

going. 

"FOUNDED  ON  A  ROCK." 

"  Attention  was  attracted  to  the  house  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Hawley,  tue 
brother  of  Congressman  Hawley.  He  bought  the  propert}^  from 
an  engineer  who  lived  in  Galveston  some  time  about  the  flood  of 
'96.  He  said  he  would  build  him  a  house  which  would  stand.  He 
placed  the  foundations  on  an  iron  fence  two  feet  in  the  ground. 
This  foundation  was  of  brick.  In  this  foundation  he  placed  the 
railing  of  the  iron  fence  running  up  three  feet.  At  the  top  he 
placed  filagree  brick  work.  His  house  was  braced  well  and  the 
timbers  were  heavy  and  well  put  together.  The  storm  did  not 
phase  it. 

"The  fence  acted  as  a  barrier  to  timbers  from  the  houses  which 
had  been  destroyed.  It  kept  away  the  battering  rams  with  w^hicli 
the  waves  assaulted  all  places.  When  the  night's  horrors  w^ere 
at  an  end  the  house  stood  intact.  Even  the  cistern,  which  was  on 
piling,  stood  the  test  and  was  uninjured.  Now  the  Galveston 
people  begin  t;o  consider  the  question  of  whether  much  was  not 
their  fault  in  that  their  structures  were  not  of  the  kind  that  should 
have  been  built,  when  storms  were  sure  to  come. 

''  It  is  just  such  things  as  this  that  give  them  hope.  As  I  have 
said,  I  despaired  of  the  town  when  I  walked  among  the  dead  bod- 
ies and  saw  the  destruction  on  every  side.  But  like  the  rest  I  got 
over  this  depression.  I  caught  the  infection  of  the  new  life  when 
it  came.      I  know  that  I  speak  the  truth  when  I  say  that  the  life 


WONDERFUL   COURAGE   OF   SURVIVORS.  421 

ill  Galveston  now  is  capable  of  upbuilding'  the  town,  and  building 
it  better  in  every  way  than  it  ever  was.  Millions  of  dollars  are 
invested  in  enterprises  in  the  town.  The  men  who  have  lost  thou- 
sands, not  to  say  millions,  will  not  permit  the  rest  to  go  without  a 
struggle. 

"  The  i-ailroads  running  into  the  place  and  depending  on  the 
thirty  feet  of  deep  water,  which  is  said  now  to  exist  in  the 
channel,  for  export  of  the  freight,  will  not  agree  to  abandon  the 
port,  the  only  one  of  such  depth  for  thousands  of  miles.  Cotton 
factors  in  all  the  world,  who  look  to  this  port  for  their  supplies, 
will  not  abandon  it.  The  monetary  interest  in  the  city  of  itself 
would  save  it  even  if  the  people  were  not  so  full  of  heart  as  they 
are.  But  above  this,  the  poor  people  and  the  working  classes 
have  no  where  else  to  go.  With  mau}^  of  them,  it  is  too  late  in 
life  to  begin  it  anew.  It  is  too  late  for  them  to  build  up  acquaint- 
ances again.  They  have  lost  their  houses,  but  the  lots  on  which 
the  houses  were  located  are  there. 

EXTRAORDINARY  PUBLIC  CHARITY. 

"Subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  perhaps  $2,000,000  have 
•ooured  in  for  their  relief.  The  well-to-do  Galvestonian  is  deter- 
mined that  this  relief  shall  go  to  those  who  are  poor,  that  they 
may  to  some  extent  repair  their  fortunes.  The  rich  themselves 
will  build.  In  a  month  from  now  every  man  in  the  place  will 
have  all  the  labor  he  can  perform.  Every  person  will  be  busy. 
The  work  of  up-building  will  in  some  measure  rub  out  the  recol-  , 
lection  of  the  horrors  of  the  storm.  The  Huntington  estate  will 
continue  its  work.  Bridges  of  the  very  first  class  will  span  the 
waters  between  the  island  and  the  mainland.  If  great  corpora- 
tions can  risk  their  money,  as  they  are  determined  to  do,  why 
shall  not  a  poor  man  risk  his  labor  to  build  another  house  on  the 
lot  he  owned? 

"  Why,  even  behind  the  business  and  necessitous  phases  of  the 
matter,  there  rises  a  sentiment  among  the  people.  That  sentiment 
is  that  we  will  show  the  world  the  stuff  that  Galveston  people  are 
made  of.     Galveston  is  all  right.     The  storm  could    not  kill  her, 


422  WONDERFUL   COURAGP:   OF   SURVIVORS. 

though  it  wounded  her  to  the  deatli  almost.  There  is  pluck  there. 
There  is  pride  there.  There  is  mouey  there.  And,  above  all, 
chere  are  recollections  there  for  the  Galvestonian,  and  he  will  not 
be  downed  by  wind  and  wave.     Mark  that.  " 

Galveston,  Tex.,  Sept.  i8. — It  would  be  somewhat  difficult 
just  now  to  give  an  answer  to  the  question  :  "  What  is  new  in  the 
situation  at  Galveston?"  The  situation  has  resolved  itself  into 
a  routine  of  hard  and  systematic  work  which  presents  no  features 
of  special  or  startling  interest,  and  which  will,  in  the  end,  have 
the  effect  of  showing  what  a  stricken  people  can  accomplisk  in  the 
face  of  a  fearful  calamit}^  if  they  go  about  their  work  in  the  proper 
manner. 

Generally  speaking,  conditions  are  improved  at  every  point. 
The  various  committees  continue  to  carry  out  the  tasks  the}^  have 
in  hand,  and  on  all  sides  progress  which  would  not  have  been 
thought  possible  is  being  made.  Business  concerns  are  resum 
ing  business  or  making  every  possible  effort  toward  that  end. 
Wherever  possible,  buildings  are  being  repaired,  at  least  to  an 
extent  which  will  protect  their  contents  from  tlie  elements.  Roofs 
are  being  replaced  with  temporary  shields  against  the  wind  and 
rain,  panes  of  glass  are  being  placed  in  the  frames  which  were 
destroyed  by  the  storm,  and  stores  are  being  cleaned  out  and  the 
damaged  goods  they  contain  exposed  to  the  sun  and  wind  in  order 
to  dry  them  and  thus  minimize  the  damage  done. 

RAIN   ADDS  TO  THE  SUFFERING. 

Harly  this  morning  there  was  a  sharp  shower  of  rain — the 
first  since  the  storm — which,  while  it  lasted  but  a  few  minutes, 
showed  how  absolutely  necessary  it  is  to  get  the  buildings  of  the 
town  in  something  like  their  normal  condition  as  soon  as  possible. 
In  the  Tremont  Hotel,  the  roof  over  a  part  of  which  is  the  office, 
came  in  in  many  places — through  parts  of  the  roof  itself,  through 
the  broken  skylight  and  through  the  empty  window  panes.  Out 
in  the  residence  portion  of  the  town  the  rainfall  undoubtedly 
caused  at  least  a  great  amount  of  discomfort,  for  hundreds  of 
houses  which  were  not  absolutely  uninhabitable  during  the  prev- 


WONDERFUL   COURAGE   OF   SURVIVORS.  42a 

aleuce  of  fair  weatlier  were  drenclied  and  deluged,  and  the  weary 
and  heartsick  people  they  sheltered  were  rendered  all  the  more 
miserable. 

It  must  be  understood  in  this  connection  that  while  the  work 
of  repairing  and  making  proof  against  the  elements  the  building 
of  the  city  is  a  very  important  feature  of  the  situation,  the  mat- 
ter of  cleaning  up  the  debris  and  disposing  of  the  dead  bodies 
therein  is  paramount  on  account  of  the  danger  which  might  result 
to  the  public  health  were  this  work  not  done  as  rapidly  as 
possible. 

Right  here  it  should  be  said  that,  all  reports  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding,  there  is  at  present  practically  no  likelihood  what- 
ever that  anything  like  an  epidemic  will  result  from  the  presence 
of  decomposing  bodies  and  the  deposits  made  by  the  water  during 
the  storm.  This  is  perhaps  a  broad  statement,  but  it  is  one  which 
backed  by  all  of  the  eminent  medical  authorities  of  the  city,  who 
are  certainly  in  a  position  to  know  if  any  one  is. 

DISINFECTING  THE    CITY. 

Satisfactory  progress  is  being  made  in  the  work  of  removing 
the  offending  matter,  and  a  large  amount  of  disinfectants  of  various 
sorts  is  being  used  where  it  will  do  the  most  good.  The  fear  of 
an  epidemic  is  one  which  has  probably  caused  a  great  deal  of 
uneasiness  among  the  people  who  have  friends  and  relatives  still 
in  the  city,  but  from  the  standpoint  of  a  layman,  who  has  formed 
his  opinion  largely  from  investigation  and  from  physicians  who 
are  interested  in  the  work  of  caring  for  the  health  of  the  city,  it 
may  be  stated,  without  any  reservations  whatever  that  the  possi- 
bility of  the  prevalence  in  the  future  of  any  malignant  disease  is 
very  remote  indeed.  Those  interested  may  well  set  their  fears  on 
this  score  at  rest. 

The  progress  that  has  been  made  in  securing  a  correct  list  of 
the    dead    is    something  wonderful,   considering  all  the  circum- 
stances.    Debris   is  being  removed  in  all  parts  of  the  town  and 
many  more   bodies  were   burned   to-day.     There  are  places  here, 
however,  which  the  workers  have  been   unable  lo  reach.     Unless 


424  WONDERFUL   COURAGE   OF   SURVIVORS. 

"he  goes  into  the  mass  of  debris  he  can  not  imagine  a  condition 
equal  to  that  which  exists.  There  are  places  where  the  wreckage 
is  piled  so  high  and  is  in  such  an  entangled  mass  that  the  workers 
will  have  great  difficulty  in  getting  it  cleared  away.  There 
are  some  places  where  timber  enough  is  stacked  in  a  confused 
heap  which  is  of  quantity  sufficient  to  stock  a  good-sized  lumber 
3^ard.  Houses  have  been  torn  limb  from  limb,  as  it  were,  and 
from  beneath  the  unexplored  depths  of  these  places  more  bodies 
will  be  found. 

Dr.  J.  Wilkes  O'Neill,  of  Philadelphia,  Secretary  of  the 
Associate  Society  of  the  Red  Cross,  received  a  letter  from  Pres- 
ident Clara  Barton,  dated  Galveston,  September  19,  in  which   she 

savs  : 

CLARA  BARTON'S  LETTER. 

'  The  conditions  here  are  as  much  as  3'ou  will  gather  from 
what  you  have  read.  Like  some  other  fields  that  we  have  visited, 
it  does  not  admit  of  exaggeration.  One  can  scarcely  imagine  how 
it  could  have  been  worse,  and  3'et  one  sees  the  cit}^  full  of  people 
left  alive  ;  but  when  we  think  of  the  hundreds,  and  it  may  be  even 
thousands,  lying  buried  and  deca3dng  in  great  heaps  of  debris 
stretched  for  miles  along  the  edge  of  what  was  once  a  town,  it  is 
hard  to  conjecture  anything  worse. 

"Supplies  are  coming  in  from  all  sides.  Of  course,  disin- 
fectants were  the  first  thought,  to  protect  the  living  against  the 
dead.  All  that  can  be  done  by  the  purification  of  fire  is  being 
done,  the  pyres  of  human  sacrifice  are  burning  day  and  night.  I 
have  never  had  anj^  fears  of  an  epidemic.  We  have  in  all  our 
experience,  3'ou  will  remember,  never  known  an  epidemic  to  follow 
a  flood.     There  will,  I  believe,  be  no  pestilence  here. 

"  There  is  a  portion  of  the  town  containing  business  houses, 
which,  while  being  terribly  damaged,  stood  upright,  and  stores 
with  their  valuable  contents  were  entirel3^  submerged.  The  streets 
are  filled  with  elegant  goods,  dr3'ing  off,  and  it  will  be  most  rea- 
sonable charity  to  bu3^  these  of  the  merchants  at  the  prices  puton 
them — which  are  scarce^-  half — in  preference  to  using  first  those 
thjit  are  sent,  until  these  dealers  ai"e  relieved  in  a  measure. 


WONDERFUL   COURAGE    OF    SURVIVORS.  425 

"Every  accommodation  which  the  city  can  afford  was  placed 
at  our  disposah  A  large  ware-house  is  being  fitted  to-day  ready 
to  receive  the  carloads  of  goods  on  the  way.  Every  offtcial,  from 
the  highest  to  the  least,  calls  to  know  w^iat  the  Red  Cross  needs, 
and  how  it  can  be  served.  The  grateful  confidence  with  which 
they  approach  us,  or  even  speak  the  name,  makes  one  humble, 
filled  with  the  fear  that  we  will  fail  to  justif}^  the  fullness  of  the 
confidence  and  hope  that  is  offered. 

"  There  seems  to  be  an  unusually  large  number  of  children 
with  no  one  to  care  for  them  or  who  knows  them.  There  are  five 
or  six  hundred  of  these,  it  is  stated,  gathered  in  the  houses  of  the 
poor,  overburdened  with  their  own  wants,  and  yet  cannot  see 
another  child  suffer.  We  will  help  them  as  far  as  possible,  gather 
them  in,  and  the  world  will  give  them  homes.  It  requires  great 
calamities  to  show  how  generous  and  great  are  the  hearts  of  the 
people  of  the  land. 

GUARDING  AGAINST    FUTURE    DESTRUCTION. 

'  This  city  will  be  built  up  again,  probably  finer  than  before 
— and  it  was  a  fine  cit}^  alwa3^s — but  I  hope  never  without  a  pro- 
tection from  the  storms.  It  is  criminal  to  allow  people  perfectly 
unsuspecting  to  settle  themselves  and  live  on  territory,  however 
beautiful,  that  is  morally  certain  at  some  evil  moment  of  destruc- 
tion. If  Galveston  is  worth  the  possession  that  it  is  and  has  been 
to  our  countr}',  it  is  worth  its  protection  ;  therefore  we  shall  see 
that  it  shall  not  fail  to  implore  of  the  government  that  it  give 
work  to  its  men  and  security  to  its  inhabitants  by  a  sea  wall, 
which  shall  render  it  almost  safe." 

On  September  20th  we  find  this  tragic  recital  : 
"The  storm  has  claimed  another  victim,  and  another  soul 
that  passed  through  that  night  of  nights  has  gone  to  its  reward. 
In  chronicling  the  death  of  Miss  Clara  Olsen,  another  pathetic 
chapter  is  added  to  the  thrilling  tale  of  horrors  which  will  never 
be  told  in  its  entirety.  Miss  Olsen,  who  was  a  graduate  of  the 
Ursuline  Academy,  and  a  most  esti.mable  3'oung  lad}',  lived  with 
h'ir  aged  mother    on  Twenty-seventh   street,   near    the   Ursuline 


4U6  WONDERFUL   COURAGE   OF   SURVIVORS. 

Convent.  When  the  storm  rose  to  its  height,  and  their  humble 
home  succum hed  to  the  destructive  elements,  mother  and  daughter 
were  thrown  out  into  the  surging  waters. 

"With  one  hand  firmly  grasping  her  mother,  the  young  lady 
bravely  struggled  against  the  wind  and  sea.  At  last  the  branches 
of  a  large  tree  were  sighted  above  the  raging  torrent,  and  mother 
and  daughter  exerted  their  fast  failing  energies  to  reach  the 
luring  tree  top.  As  the  two  weary  creatures  neared  the  haven, 
the  daughter  reached  with  one  hand  to  grab  a  swaying  branch. 
She  missed  it  and  was  carried  backward  by  the  wind.  Another 
attempt  and  she  secured  a  hold,  but  her  mother  had  been  torn 
from  her  embrace  by  the  sea,  and  was  swept  to  her  death  beneath 
the  waters. 

LODGED  IN  A  LARGE  OAK. 

"In  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  a  rescuing  party  found 
the  almost  lifeless  form  of  the  young  lady  resting  in  the  tangled 
branches  of  the  large  oak.  She  was  carried  to  the  home  of 
friends  and  recovered  from  the  shock.  But  the  thoughts  of  her 
mother's  tragic  death,  and  the  strange  feeling  that  she  was 
responsible  for  it,  weighed  heavil}^  on  her  heart  and  mind.  The 
haunted  thoughts  racked  her  brain  and  slowly  undermined  her 
failing  health  until  the  end  came,  when  the  broken-hearted  and 
weary  spirit  responded  to  death's  sweet  sleep.  '  Mother's  in 
heaven  and  I'll  soon  be  with  her,'  were  the  last  words  whispered 
by  the  girl." 

The  work  of  clearing  the  streets  and  the  city  in  general  pro- 
gresses with  surprising  rapidity  and  systematic  thoroughness. 
Street  after  street  is  being  cleared  up  and  the  wreckage  being 
stacked  away.  In  accordance  with  an  order  from  military  head- 
quarters, a  new  plan  has  been  inaugurated  in  removing  debris. 
Instead  of  removing  the  debris  and  throwing  it  to  one  side  to 
remove  the  dead,  it  is  ordered  that  the  ridge  of  wreckage  along 
the  beach  be  separated  into  two  piles.  The  first  pile  removed  is 
to  be  stacked  (Uit  near  the  beach,  where  it  can  be  fired  and  con- 
sumed.    The   bodies  found  are  to  be  disposed  of  on   pyres  placed 


WONDERFUL   COURAGE   OF   SURVIVORS.  42Y 

at   convenient   intervals   between  the  two  piles  of  debri-*^-     Tlie 
second  pile  will  be  fired  separately. 

Militar}^  law  has  had  a  wonderfnl  effect  in  placing  the  opera- 
tions of  all  classes  of  work  under  one  head,  and  the  work  of  this 
general  headquarters  has  won  the  highest  commendation  from 
the  good  citizens.  Kvery  ward  has  its  supervisor,  who  reports 
daily  all  work  done  in  his  respective  ward,  files  comp'  liuts, 
makes  suggestions,  and,  in  fact,  keeps  the  general  headquaiters 
informed  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  management  of  his 
district. 

The  ward  supervisor  has  in  charge  a  number  of  foremen, 
who  in  turn  are  in  charge  of  gangs  of  workmen  numbering  from 
ten  to  twenty  men.  General  Scurry  holds  the  ward  chairmen 
responsible  for  their  districts,  and  the  chairmen  hold  their  fore 
men  accountable  for  the  actions  of  their  gangs  of  laborers. 
Every  department  and  branch  of  public  service  is  under  control 
of  Brigadier  General  Scurry,  who  is  ably  assisted  by  Adjutant 
General  McCaleb,  Assistant  Adjutant  Reid  and  a  score  or  more 
of  efficient  clerks  and  stenographers.  At  headquarters  is  a  busy 
place.  There  all  complaints,  all  reports,  all  requisitions  and  all 
operations  of  the  military  force  of  over  200  soldiers  are  filed  and 
made  note  of 

FLOOD    OF  TELEGRAMS. 

Every  class  of  work  has  its  corps  of  officers  and  clerks  and 
every  communication  or  recordis  carefully  filed  in  the  proper  place. 
Hundreds  of  telegraphic  messages  are  received  and  answered  every 
day.  Orders  are  promulgated  and  duplicate  copies  distributed 
around  the  city  and  a  thousand  and  one  matters  must  be 
attended  to  and  all  of  them  require  prompt  action  and  attention. 

General  McCaleb,  who  is  in  touch  with  the  pulse  of  the  com- 
munity by  reason  of  his  office  and  who  is  familiar  with  the  detailed 
operations  of  the  military  department,  stated  that  Galveston  was 
recovering  amazingly  from  the  calamity,  and  that  it  could  be  stated 
as  a  fact  that  in  three  or  four  days  the  city  will  have  resumed 
normal  conditions. 


ILN  WONDERFUL   COURAr.K    OF   SURVIVORS. 

"  This  department  lias  accomplislied  a  great  deal,  and  to  tlie 
several  hundred  men  who  have  devoted  their  time  and  attention 
to  the  cit3^'s  welfare  too  much  credit  cannot  be  given,"  said  he. 
"  It  is  astonishing  to  note  the  spirit  of  the  people  of  Galveston 
and  the  manner  in  which  they  go  about  the  work  of  restoring  the 
city.  We  have  had  no  serious  trouble  either  in  having  to  impress 
men  into  service  or  in  keeping  the  lawless  element  under  control. 
Considering  the  condition  of  affairs,  the  city  has  been  unusually 
orderly  and  very  few  arrests  have  been  made  of  a  serious  nature. 
I  have  tried  but  five  cases  since  the  establishment  of  martial  la\v, 
anJ'  that  tells  the  stor3^  of  how  the  law  is  being  respected." 

A    MARVEL    OF    BRIDGE    BUILDING. 

The  construction  of  the  bridge  across  Galveston  bay  has  been 
a  niarv-l  of  hustling,  and  the  dispatch  with  which  it  has  been 
done  reflects  the  indomitable  energy,  good  judgment  and  skill  of 
the  men  who  had  it  in  charge.  The  work  was  not  started  on  the 
bridge  until  Thursday  of  last  week,  because  the  material  could 
not  be  gotten  to  the  place,  but  when  it  was  started  Vice  President 
Barr  and  General  Superintendent  Nixon  said  :  "We  will  run 
trains  into  Galveston  next  Thursday."  Not  many  people  expected 
that  they  could  make  good  the  promise,  and  almost  everybody 
said  they  would  be  satisfied  if  the  trains  came  within  a  fortnight. 
But  the  men  who  directed  the  work  said  that  trains  would  cross 
on  Thursday,  and  they  stuck  to  it. 

No  work  was  ever  beset  by  such  difficulties  as  the  work  of 
restoring  the  tracks  on  the  island  and  the  mainland  and  the  build- 
ing of  the  bridge.  The  men  on  the  track  had  to  bur}^  dead 
humans  and  animals,  strewn  by  the  hundreds  over  the  prairies. 
They  toiled  in  mud  and  water  under  a  blazing  sun.  They  had  to 
remove  hundreds  of  wrecked  cars  and  twisted  and  tangled  steel 
rails.  They  worked  in  the.  stench  of  dead  flesh  and  the  horrible 
odor  of  rotting  grain  and  other  wreckage.  They  built  the  track 
over  a  wreck-strewn  prairie  torn  by  the  angr\^  sea.  It  was  diffi- 
cult to  get  supplies  to  them  and  difficult  also  to  get  material. 

The  men  who  rebuilt  tlic  l)ridge  worked  the  first  day  without 


WONDERFUL   COURAGE   OF   SURVIVORS.  -Iliii 

dinner.  It  was  difficult  to  get  boats  light  enougli  in  draft  to  bring 
provisions  or  materials  or  pile  drivers  to  Virginia  Point.  When 
the  boarding  camp  was  pitched  it  stood  in  a  new  made  cemetery, 
where  hundreds  of  victims  of  the  storm  lay  unidentified, 
unshrouded  and  uncoffined. 

For  the  first  four  days  after  construction  was  commenced, 
the  bridge  timbers  were  rafted  down  Highland  bayou  and  West 
bay,  a  distance  of  seven  miles,  to  Virginia  Point.  When  the 
track  on  the  mainland  had  been  restored  to  Virginia  Point,  the 
delivery  of  material  by  rail  began.  The  storm  swept  away  most 
of  the  pile  drivers  around  Galveston.  One  marine  driver  was 
sent  out  and  put  to  work  on  Sunday  closing  the  gaps  aggregating 
about  looo  feet  of  trestlework,  where  the  piling  had  been  carried 
away.  The  next  day  another  marine  driver  was  sent  out,  and 
Assistant  Engineer  Boschke,  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  built  two 
skid  drivers  and  sent  them  out  to  the  work. 

.GETTING  THE    TRACKS  READY. 

When  a  reporter  was  at  lUe  island  end  of  the  bridge,  at  9.30 
o'clock  yesterday  morning,  thv?  Santa  F'e  track  at  the  island  had 
just  been  completed.  The  sv;eel  laying  gang  on  the  bridge  was 
about  a  mile  from  shore,  with  the  stringer  gangs  about  half  that 
distance  away.  The  caps  were  laid  up  all  the  way  to  the  shore. 
The  SaJita  Fe  has  some  pretty  rough  tracks  for  a  short  dis- 
tance this  side  of  the  bridge,  but  the  track  through  the  west 
yards  is  in  good  condition  and  in  fair  condition  the  rest  of  the 
way  in. 

The  Galveston,  Houston  and  Henderson  Railroad  completed 
its  island  track  to  a  connection  with  the  Santa  Fe  at  the  bridge 
yesterday  forenoon,  and  the  Southern  Pacific  folks  expected  to 
complete  their  track  last  night.  The  Southern  Pacific  track  is  in 
very  good  condition.  It  has  been  lebuilt  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  H.  K.  Nichols,  the  agent  of  the  company  at  this  point. 
Nearl}^  all  the  material  used  was  gathered  up  from  the  prairie, 
some  of  i-t  iiaving  been  washed  several  hundred  feet  awa}-.  The 
Vvork  was   delayed  by  a  large  number  of  wrecked   cars.     There 


4}}y  WONDERFUL   COURAGE   OI-    SURVIVORS. 

was  110  wrecking  outfit  to  be  bad  in  tbc  cit}',  and  it  was  necessaiy 
to  remove  tbe  wreckage  b}^  slow  processes. 

The  Southern  Pacific  had  about  200  cars  in  its  west  3'ard 
loaded  with  grain,  cotton  and  merchandise.  The  3^ard  was  ter- 
ribly swept  and  many  of  the  cars  wrecked,  some  of  them  being 
washed  nearl}^  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  The  new  double-track 
railroad  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  near  the  hsiy  shore,  was  torn  to 

pieces. 

Bradstreet's  weekl}'  report  commented  on  the  great  calamity 
as  follows  : 

"Galveston  was  flooded  by  one  of  the  tropical  storms  Mdiich 
from  time  to  time  vex  the  southern  coast,  and  as  the  result  of  its 
ravages,  thousands  of  people  have  been  killed,  many  more  have 
been  made  homeless,  and  the  city  has  been  reduced  to  a  condition 
which  has  led  some  people  of  a  pes.siniistic  turn  to  despair  of  its 
future.  Views  of  this  kind,  however,  do  not  take  sufficient 
account  of  the  energy  of  the  American  people  or  of  the  efforts 
which  will  be  put  forth  to  save  to  the  commerce  of  the  world  one 
of  its  great  ports. 

SUPERIOR    TO    THE    CALAMITY. 

"  It  may  take  some  time  for  Galveston  to  recover  from  the 
shock  and  the  horror  of  its  late  visitation,  the  most  destructive  in 
its  effects  that  has  darkened  the  annals  of  the  United  States,  but 
the  pride  and  energy  of  its  people  may  be  counted  upon  to  rise 
superior  to  even  this  calamity.  Meanwhile  the  spirit  of  helpful- 
ness and  charity  that  has  made  the  people  of  the  United  States 
:onspicuous  among  those  of  all  the  world  may  be  counted  upon  to 
aid  in  healing  the  wounds  made  by  this  signal  disaster,  so  that, 
before  long,  after  the  succor  most  immediately  and  imperatively 
demanded  has  been  furnished,  the  great  Gulf  port  nia}^  be  once 
more  rebuilt  and  made  to  contribute  as  it  has  done  in  the  past  to 
the  extension  of  the  trade  of  the  country,  for  whose  commerce  it 
has  furnished  a  conspicuous  outlet.  Earnestly  desirous  of  con- 
tributing to  sucli  a  result,  Bradstreet's  will  be  glad  to  forward  to 
liie  proper  relief  committees  any  subscriptions  which  its  readers 


WONDERFUL   COUkAGK   OF   SURVIVORS.  48» 

may  deem  proper  to  coufide  to  it  for  the  aid  of  the  distressed  city 

and  its  inhabitants." 

St.  Mary's  Infirmary  was  the  refnge  where  over  a  thousand 

of  lives  were  saved  from  a  cruel  death,  wliich  the  terrible   storm 

seemed  so  anxious  to  administer,  and  if  it  had  not  almost  ceased 

to  be  at  a  premium  on  account  of  so   man^y  displa3^s  of  that  most 

.loble  virtue,  the  heroism  displa3'ed  at  and  around  that  institution 

^ihat  afternoon  and  night  would  be  something  remarkable.     Men 

worked  with  five  boats  all  of  that  afterunon,  never  tiring  in-  their 

heroic  efforts   in  bringing  women  and   children    from   their  fniil 

dwellings  to  this  haven  "of  safet}^,  and  when  these  poor  frightened 

people  arrived  the3^  were  still  heroicall}^  dealt  with  by  the  Sisters 

of  Charit3^ 

ONSLAUGHTS    OF  THE    STORM. 

Of  all  those  who  took  refuge  there  onl3r  two  lost  their  lives, 
and  those  were  in  an  outbuilding  where  some  fifty-two  had  tak.-n 
reftige.  While  the  main  building,  where  most  of  the  people  were, 
shook  and  trembled  under  the  awful  onslaughts  made  on  it  b3'  the 
wind  and  water,  and  although  the  water  kept  coming  up  into  that 
building  until  it  stood  three  and  a  half  feet  deep  on  the  lower 
floor,  the  building  stood  the  shock  bravely  and  not  a  life  was  lost 
in  it. 

Onl3^  those  who  were  there  and  heard  the  terrible  noises  that 
the  wind  and  water  made  in  their  mission  of  destruction,  and  only 
those  who  felt  the  building  tremble  and  saw  the  houses  around 
the  place  torn  down  and  washed  awa3^,  can  realize  the  fearful nes.c 
of  that  evening  and  night.  But  during  it  all  the  Sisters  were 
there,  forgetting  their  own  personal  danger  in  quieting  the  fears 
of  those  who  had  come  to  them  for  refuge.  It  was  indeed  a  hard- 
ened man  that  did  not  there  that  night  ask  his  Creator  for  pre 
tection. 

It  was  early  in  the  afternoon  that  the  refugees  began  to  come. 
They  came  first  from  the  flats  east  of  the  building,  wliich  is  lower 
than  the  ground  around  and  to  the  west  of  the  Infirmary,  the 
water  rising  there  first.  Then,  as  the  storm  kept  increasing  and 
the  water  rising,  the3'  began  to  come  from   the  houses  all  around. 


r.VI  WONDERFUL    COUR.u;r:    ;)!'    SUR\'1V0RS. 

They  waded  iu  first,  but  it  was  not  long  before  it  was  too  deep  and 
turbulent  for  tliat.  It  was  then  boatloads  began  to  arrive,  and 
it  was  in  this  way  that  the  boats  were  brought  there  which  after- 
ward were  the  means  by  which  so  many  others  were  saved. 

No  sooner  wonld  a  cargo  of  precious  lives  be  left  at  the 
door  than  the  boat  would  be  snatched  away  by  ready  hands  and 
taken  ont  to  pick  np  another  load.  This  was  continued  all  the 
afternoon  and  up  until  it  became  so  daik  the  men  could  not  see 
which  way  to  go  after  thej^  had  procured  a  load  of  frightened 
people.  At  first  it  was  a  comparatively  easy  thing  to  push  tlie 
boats  about  and  collect  people,  but  along  in  the  afternoon  the  wind 
had  so  increased  and  the  water  became  so  agitated  that  it  was  with 
the  greatest  danger  this  was  done. 

THE    MEN   STUCK   TO    THEIR    WORK. 

Notwithstanding  this  great  danger  and  the  hard  task  of  hand- 
ling the  boats,  the  men  stuck  to  it  manfully.  Not  once  did  tlie}^ 
stop  for  even  a  breathing  spell.  They  realized  the  terrible  danger 
that  was  before  those  wbo  had  not  found  a  stable  refuge,  and  stood 
to  the  work  heroically.  Many  times  were  the  boats  almost 
swamped,  and  many  times  did  the  occupants  and  those  who  were 
pushing  come  within  an  ace  of  drowning,  but  looking  death  in 
the  face  and  defying  the  wind  and  waters  to  do  their  worst,  they 
kept  at  their  mission  of  salvation  until  blinded  b}^  the  darkness. 
Even  before  they  made  their  last  loads  houses  were  beginning  to 
go  down,  maiming  and  drowning  their  inmates. 

After  the  men  had  shown  the  heroism  born  in  them,  it  was 
the  turn  of  the  women  to  show  their  mettle,  and  they  did  it,  every 
one  of  them.  The  Sisters  forgot  the  great  danger  of  instant  death 
and  went  about  comforting  and  trying  to  ease  the  fears  of  the 
many  who  had  come  to  their  institution  seeking  safety.  But  even 
they  shuddered  with  fear  when  they  saw  the  house  formerly  occu- 
pied by  the  patients  from  the  Santa  Fe  road,  go  down,  burying  the 
refugees  whom  they  knew  to  be  in  the  building,  go  down,  not  onto 
the  ground,  but  into  a  boiling,  seething  mass  of  water — that  water 
which  seemed  to  vie  with  the  wind  in  its  destruction. 


WONDERFUL   COURAGE   OF   SURVIVORS.  4:i3 

Then  wlieu  the  water  kept  rising  and  the  wind  increasing  in 
velocity,  until  it  seemed  that  nothing  conld  stand  before  it,  it  was, 
indeed,  a  time  to  be  afraid.  This  condition  continued  for  several 
hours,  which  seemed  days  to  those  whose  hope  was  in  its  abate- 
ment, until  about  midnight  the  waters  began  to  subside  and  the 
wind  to  decrease  in  velocity. 

It  was  not  until  between  3  and  4  o'clock  in  the  morning,  how- 
ever, that  the  water  had  gone  down  enough  to  allow  any  one  to 
venture  out.  When  the  water  had  receded  enough  for  one  to  go 
outside,  it  was  found  that  the  Santa  Fe  wing  of  the  hospital,  which 
was  a  frame  building,  was  a  mass  of  wreckage  and  had  washed 
over  against  the  rear  of  the  Infirmary  building  proper.  Knowing 
that  there  were  refugees  in  the  building  when  it  went  down,  there 
was  fear  for  their  safety. 

IMPRISONED    IN    THE    WRECKAGE. 

At  once  men  began  a  search  and  found  the  frightened  and 
maimed  refugees  imprisoned  down  among  the  wreckage.  The  work 
of  getting  them  out  was  begun.  All  were  found  to  be  alive  except 
two,  a  child  and  a  crippled  woman  named  Mary  Sweeny.  Although 
the  survivors  were  alive,  they  were  horribly  cut  up  and  wounded, 
which  was  proof  of  the  terrible  night  they  had  spent  and  of  their 
awfwl  experience. 

Then  daylight  came  to  present  a  picture  such  as  none  had 
ever  seen  and  none  ever  cares  again  to  cast  his  eyes  upon.  The 
clean  sweep  of  the  waters  and  their  horrible  destruction  was  in 
full  view,  and  to  add  to  the  awfulness  of  the  picture,  the  water 
had  left  several  bodies  of  its  victims  at  the  door  of  the  Infirmarv. 
The  people  then  left,  not  to  go  to  their  homes,  but  to  go  to  where 
their  homes  had  been.  Many  returned  on  account  of  having  no 
place  to  go,  and  for  days  stopped  at  the  Infirmary,  their  wants 
being  administered  to  by  the  good  Sisters.  Since  then,  that  insti- 
tution has  been,  as  well  as  a  hospital  where  the  injured  have  been 
attended  to,  a  house  of  refuge  where  those  made  destitute  and 
lionieless  by  the  storm  have  stayed. 

Martial  law,  which  had  been  declared,  was  suspended  at    the 
28 


434  WONDERl-UL   COURAGE   OF   SURVIVORS. 

earliest  moment  consistent  with  the  peace  and   safety  of  tlie  city, 
as  will  be  seen  b}^  the  following  : 

"  Headquarters  Office,  Galveston,  Texas,  September  20. — 
Hon.  Walter  C.  Jones,  Mayor  of  Galveston,  Texas — Sir  :  "  I  have 
the  honor  to  report  that,  in  my  opinion,  the  conditions  npon  which 
yon  based  yonr  proclamation  declaring  martial  law  in  Galveston, 
have  rapidly  changed.  Order  lias  been  restored,  the  energies  of 
the  city  have  been  directed  into  the  proper  channels,  and  the 
moment  is  opportnne  for  a  retnrn  to  civil  processes. 

"  I  would  respectfully  ask  that  yon  prepare  to  resnme  the 
functions  of  civil  government  within  twenty-four  hours. 

"  Such  troops  of  the  Texas  volunteer  guard  as  may  be  neces- 
sary will  be  retained  bere  while  needed  to  aid  the  civil  authorities 
.n  maintaining  order.     Ver}^  respectfully,  yonr  obedient  servant, 

"Thomas  S.  Scurry, 
"  Brig.  Gen.  Commanding  City  Forces." 

CITY    GOVERNMENT    THE    SAME. 

J-S.S  far  as  the  general  public  is  concerned,  there  is  to  be  no 
radical  change  in  the  general  government  of  the  city.  The 
change  means  a  shifting  of  the  powers  that  govern  from  the  mili- 
tary to  the  civil  process,  but  the  good  work  inaugurated  and 
expedited  under  the  able  and  efficient  direction  of  General  Scuny 
will  be  continued  and  hastened  to  an  early  completion.  General 
Scurry  and  his  military  command  will  remain  in  the  city,  and 
will  be  continued  in  service  for  police  and  guard  duty  as  hereto- 
fore, except  that  they  will  act  under  the  direction  of  the  civil 
authorities. 

The  resumption  of  civil  control  of  the  affairs  of  the  cit}'-  will 
remove  the  bars  to  traffic  into  and  out  of  the  city  so  far  as  good 
citizens  are  concerned,  but  certain  restrictions  will  be  maintained 
to  keep  out  persons  not  wanted  in  this  community.  With  the 
military  force  and  the  increased  police  department  and  sheriff's 
department  there  will  be  enough  men  to  guard  all  the  gateways  to 
the  city  and  patrol  the  streets  of  the  cit3^ 

Mayor  Joues  and  General  Scurry  desire  it  to  be  clearl}^  under- 


WONDKRFUL   COURAGK   OF   SUKVIVOUS.  4'db 

Stood  tliat  the  lawless  element  will  be  sliowii  no  quarter.  AIa3'or 
Jones  has  instructed  General  Scurr}^  that  he  wants  law  and  order 
maintained  at  any  cost  and  that  the  niilitar}^  command  shall  be 
backed  in  their  work. 

From  to-day  noon  it  will  not  be  necessary  for  persons  desiring 
to  leave  the  city  to  secure  passes,  nor  will  it  be  necessar}^  for  per- 
sons desiring  to  come  to  Galveston  to  secure  passports.  However,  all 
gatewa3^s  M'ill  be  guarded  and  suspicious  characters  will  be  subject 
to  scrutin}"  and  examination  before  being  allowed  to  enter  the 
cit3\ 

The  sporting  element,  including  gamblers  and  others  of  the 
sporting  fraternity,  will  not  be  allowed  to  come  to  Galveston,  and 
if  found  here  their  immediate  deportation  will  follow  their  convic- 
tion. Drunkenness  will  not  be  tolerated  and  all  arrests  upon  this 
charge  will  be  prosecuted  to  the  severest  extent  of  the  law.  On 
this  score  Ma3''or  Jones  and  General  Scurry  are  most  emphatic 
and  thej^  seek  to  impress  the  people  most  hrnil}^  in  this  regard. 

SALOONS    CANNOT    OPEN. 

"  I  want  it  distinctly  understood  that  the  suspension  of  martial 
law  does  not  mean  that  the  saloons  may  open  up,"  said  Ma3'or 
Jones  yesterda3^  "  I  desire  'The  News'  to  announce  that  the 
saloons  must  remain  closed  until  further  orders  and  that  no  back 
or  side  door  business  will  be  permitted.  The  saloons  were  not 
closed  under  martial  law,  but  were  closed  by  m3^  order  before 
martial  law  was  proclaimed.  The  proclamation  closing  them, 
therefore,  holds  good  and  will  not  be  revoked  until  I  am  satisfied 
that  it  can  be  done  with  safet3^  Although  martial  law  will  be 
raised  to-morrow.  General  Scurry  is  going  to  remain  with  me  and 
.assist  me  as  he  has  so  admirably  done  during  the  past  ten  da3^s." 

The  citizens  of  Galveston  were  not  in  a  position  to  look  after 
the  affairs  of  the  city  government  under  the  circumstances.  It  was  a 
public  calamity  that  befell  the  city  and  ever3^  citizen  had  his  burden 
of  sorrow  to  bear.  There  is  no  gainsaying  the  fact  that  the  estab- 
lishment of  martial  law  was  the  best  course  to  be  pursued  under 
existing  circumstances  and  the  beneficial  results  are  plainl3'  maui- 


43G  WONDERFUL   Col 'RACK   OF   SURVIVORS. 

fest  on  eveiy  hand.  Public  spirited  citizens  volnnteered  their 
services  and  men  who  held  back  were  promptl}^  impressed  into 
j)nblic  service  for  their  own  as  well  as  the  good  of  ever}^  person 
living  in  Galveston. 

Organization  of  this  vast  ami}'  of  workers  was  perfected, 
departments  were  institnted  to  condnct  the  different  classes  of  labor, 
and  under  strict  military  discipline  order  was  restored.  The 
clearing  of  the  streets,  burial  of  the  dead,  caring  forthe  living  and 
providing  for  the  restoration  of  the  cit}^  was  commenced  in  earnest 
under  niilitar}'  stipervision  and  urged  to  most  flattering  success. 
There  are  few  who  regret  the  institution  of  martial  law,  but 
there  are  many  who  would  deplore  the  removal  of  the  military 
forces. 

General  Scurr}^,  who  has  won  the  commendation  and  heart- 
felt thanks  of  this  communit}^,  is  a  man  of  few  words.  He  sa3^s 
he  tried  to  do  his  duty  and  he  is  glad  that  the  people  of  Galveston 
appreciate  the  fact.  He  sa^^s  he  was  never  treated  more  kindl}- 
and  he  feels  that  the  citizens  were  alive  to  the  fact  that  what  he 
did  was  for  their  own  good  and  the  good  of  Galveston 

PLACE  AND  ORDER  OUT  OF  CHAOS. 

Mayor  Jones  stated  to  a  "  News  "  reporter  ^^esterday  that  tne 
people  of  Galveston  are  obligated  to  General  Scurry  for  the  wa}'' 
he  has  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  cit}^  in  this  hour  of  peril.  He 
has  brought  peace  and  order  out  of  chaos  and  with  a  remarkable 
display  of  executive  ability  he  has  brought  sunshine  from  dark- 
ness and  gloom.  Without  the  slightest  friction,  without  disturb- 
ance of  any  consequence,  and  without  aid  or  advice  from  an^^one, 
he  has  wrought  wonders  and  restored  the  city  to  normal  con- 
ditions. 

As  the  work  ©f  removing  the  debris  progresses  more  dead  arc 
found  buried  beneath  the  ruins.  There  are  no  official  records  at 
hand  of  the  bodies  found,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  record  will 
never  be  completed.  It  is  known  that  there  are  niau}^  bodies  found 
and  disposed  of  by  volunteer  parties  who  failed  to  make  a  detailed 
report  of  the  work.     It  is  also  knc.wn  that  there  were  man 3^  dead 


WONDERFUL  COURAGE   OF   SURVIVORS.  437 

swept  to  sea  and  to  mainland.  Only  those  found  on  the  island 
and  on  Pelican  are  accounted  for.  Even  those  on  the  main- 
land were  not  recorded.  Some  of  them  were  from  Galveston  and 
some  were  from  that  section. 

Several  hundred  of  these  bodies  were  disposed  of  by  relief 
parties  coming  into  Galveston  on  the  first  relief  trains  which 
came  near  the  bay  shore  after  ^  the  storm.  The  trains  could  not 
get  to  the  bridge  nor  to  Virginia  Point,  and  the  relief  parties  put 
in  their  time  burying  the  dead.  No  record  was  kept  of  this 
work. 

It  is  not  known  how  many  bodies  are  still  in  the  ruins.  It  is 
known  that  there  are  many  dead  buried  beneath  the  debris  yet 
undisturbed.  There  is  absolutely  no  way  of  estimating  with  any 
degree  of  accuracy  how  many  unfortunates  remain  in  their  death 
prisons  beneath  the  mountains  of  wreckage  yet  to  be  released. 
It  is  believed  by  some  that  many  surprises  await  the  removal  of 
all  the  wreckage. 

LAST    TRAIN    OVER   THE    BRIDGE. 

Mr.  J.  T.  Grimes,  of  near  Brandon,  has  a  fine  farm  and  is  ?. 
substantial  and  reliable  citizen  highly  esteemed  and  respected. 
He  was  in  Galveston  during  the  hurricane  and  related  a  remark- 
able experience.     He  said  : 

"I  left  here  Friday  and  got  there  Saturday  evening.  The 
storm  was  on  when  we  got  there.  Our  train  was  the  last  that 
went  over  the  bridge  before  it  went  down.  The  water  was  then 
rising  rapidly  and  nearly  over  the  tracks.  The  conductor  asked 
if  any  one  had  ever  seen  it  that  high  before.  Nobody  had.  A 
carload  of  cattle  that  followed  us  on  the  bridge  went  down  with 
the  bridge." 

"  How  came  you  to  go  to  Galveston  ?  "  asked  the  reporter. 

Mr.  Grimes  hesitated,  as  if  considering,  then  said  :  "Well, 
sir,  it  was  this  way  :  I  was  sitting  on  the  gallery  with  a  baby  in 
my  arms — the  child  of  that  man  standing  there,  whose  wife  cooks 
for  me.  Suddenly  it  was  just  like  some  one  came  to  me  and  told 
me  to  go  to  Galveston.     It  came  so  powerfully  I  sprang  up  and 


438  WONDERFUL   COURAGE   OF   SURVIVORS. 

hauded  the  baby  to  its  luotlier  and  told  her  I  must  go,  and  ordered 
my  clothes  prepared  for  the  trip.   In  two  hours  I  was  on  the  way." 

"Did  3^ou  have  any  idea  what  you  were  summoned  to  Gal- 
veston for?" 

"No  ;  only  I  knew  there  was  some  disaster  threatening  my 
children.  I  did  not  know  what  it  was,  but  I  could  not  refrain 
from  going." 

Asked  further  about  the  trip  to  Galveston,  he  said  the  pas- 
sengers got  into  the  depot,  but  he  never  saw  or  heard  of  any  of 
the  train  crew,  and  he  thought  they  all  must  have  perished.  "  I 
got  a  negro  to  show  me  the  way  to  where  my  daughter,  Mrs. 
Chilton,  lived.  The  water  was  then  all  over  the  city  and  rising 
rapidly.  When  we  got  to  Eighth  street,  my  son-in-law  here, 
Stufflebram,  called  out  to  me  across  the  street.  He  had  seen  and 
recognized  me.  I  went  over  and  we  started  on.  There  was  a  lot 
of  timber  and  driftwood  floating,  and  some  people  along  the  way 
were  pulling  all  of  it  in  the  houses  they  could  get. 

HOUSE    WASHED    TO    FRAGMENTS. 

"  We  had  to  push  it  apart  to  get  through  in  places,  and  some 
of  them  laughed  and  said  push  it  to  them,  and  I  did  so,  and  they 
began  hauling  it  iu.  Nobody  thought  how  serious  it  was,  but 
looked  on  it  as  merely  high  water.  A  little  later  all  those  build- 
ings along  there  were  destroyed  and  all  the  people  there  drowned. 
Stufflebram  had  taken  his  wife  up  to  Chilton's  and  Clarkson  also, 
because  it  was  a  litle  higher  ground  there.  We  finally  reached 
it,  on  Twenty-second  street,  just  opposite  Harmony  Hall.  We 
were  all  in  the  house  together  when  Prof  Smith  sent  word  over 
from  Harmony  Hall  that  we  had  better  get  out  at  once. 

"We  went  to  the  hall,  and  the  last  of  the  party  had  hardly 
cleared  the  sidewalk  when  a  large  brick  building  gave  way  and 
mashed  Chilton's  house  to  fragments.  We  staid  in  Harmon}'' 
Hall  until  the  cyclone  ceased,  though  it  looked  once  as  if  the  hall 
would  go  when  the  roof  blew  off.  It  was  the  awfulest  time  I  ever 
saw.  My  daughters  and  their  families  were  saved,  and  I  am 
truly  lliaiAi-Lful  for  it.     They  said   at  Galveston   that  we  were   llie 


WONDERFUL   COURAGE    OF    SURVIVORS.  439 

only  family  in   the   city  who   all    got   away  alive.      It   miibt   have 
been  providential. 

''We  left  there  Thursday  and  went  to  Houston,  where  we  were 
nicely  treated.  I  never  saw  such  charitable  people  and  I  just 
love  Houston.  Charity  was  a  mile  high  there.  They  fed  us  and 
clothed  our  children  and  paid  our  fare  to  Hillsboro.  The  rail- 
roads, too,  were  nice,  and  did  all  and  more  for  us  than  one  could 
expect.  I  never  saw  or  heard  of  such  a  time  as  we  experienced 
at  Galveston.  Nobody  can  tell  it  as  it  was.  It  is  ini230ssible. 
For  two  da3^s  we  didn't  think  of  eating.  The  dead  people  float- 
ing, the  ruins  all  about  us,  destroyed  all  sense  of  hunger.  It 
wasn't  the  water  that  killed,  death  seemed  to  be  in  the  atmos- 
phere, there  was  so  much  electricity  and  such  furious  winds.  It 
is  awful,  even  to  think  of." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Galveston    Storm     Stories — Fierce    Battles    With    Surging 

Waves — Vivid     Accounts     from    Fortunate 

Survivors — A    City    of   Sorrow. 

A  RESIDENT  of  the  stricken  city  gave  the  following  graphic 
narrative  of  his  experiences,  which  help  to  make  npthe  dark 
picture  of  Galveston's  agony  and  desolation  : 

"Some  people  asked,  '  How  did  3^ou  feel  when  your  house 
went  down  in  the  storm?'  It  is  a  question  easier  asked  than 
answered.  I  was  among  the  few  who  lost  their  houses  early  in 
the  storm  and  before  darkness  set  in.  Up  to  fifteen  minutes  or 
less  before  the  house  went  down  I  had  hopes  that  it  might  survive 
the  storm.  For  three  hours  before  it  went  I  watched  the  waters 
patiently,  mostly  from  the  south  windows,  but  of  course  had 
the  restlessness  natural  to  people  who  are  waiting  for  a  great 
crisis  in  the  lives  of  themselves  or  those  dear  to  them.  To  sit 
perfectly  still  under  the  circumstances  was  impossible. 

"A  few  moment's  rest  b}^  a  south  window  was  followed  by 
an  uncontrollable  desire  to  go  to  some  other  part  of  the  house 
to  see  how  matters  were  looking.  Wandering  from  one  point  to 
another,  the  round  of  the  house  was  made,  and  once  more  I  found 
myself  back  of  the  south  windows  to  watch  the  waters  from  the 
main  danger  point.  I  do  not  think  that  I  or  au}^  of  my  family  could 
have  been  called  excited.  There  was  a  restless,  uneasy  feeling 
among  us  all,  but  actually  no  fear:  When  my  wife  left  the  house 
she  fully  expected  to  return  to  it  when  the  storm  was  over.  My 
boys  were  with  her  and  my  little  girl,  and  for  probably  half  an 
hour  I  was  alone. 

"During  that  time  I  was  partly  engaged  in  keeping  the  north 

and  east  doors  closed.     The  wind  blew  them  open  several   times, 

but  did  not  break  the  hinges.     When  one  was  blown  open  torrents 

of    rain    poured  in,    and   I    remember   thinking   of  the   task  the 

women  would  have  in  drying  the  floors  and  disposing  of  articles 
ill) 


(iALVKSTON    STORM    STORIES.  44-1 

tliat  had  suffered  from  the  water.  From  this  it  can  be  judged 
that  even  at  that  time  I  was  not  looking  for  a  total  wreck.  How 
did  1  feel  ?  I  was  not  excited.  I  was  not  in  fear  of  ni}^  life.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  what  I  regretted  was  the  propert}^  loss  and  the 
struggle  I  would  have  to  repair  damages. 

"  But  a  total  loss — a  sweeping  away  of  everything  I  had  in 
the  w^orld — was  not  thought  of.  In  fact,  it  is  hard  to  realize  now, 
a  week  after  the  storm.  The  mind  cannot  rest  all  the  time  on 
one's  loss,  and  at  times  it  seems  when  I  want  something  at  my 
house  all  I  have  to  do  is  to  go  out  and  get  it.  My  good  wife  last  night 
caught  herself  the  same  Avay.  Speaking  of  the  need  of  a  shirt  for 
Sunday,  she  asked  :  '  What  do  you  want  to  buy  a  shirt  for,  when 
you  have  three  or  four — oh,  I  forgot ;  they  were  lost  in  the  storm.' 
We  have  been  housed  safely,  and  it  has  seemed  more  like  a  visit 
than  a  total  loss  of  property  to  her,  except  when  she  has  felt  the 
need  of  something  that  was  carried  away  in  the  storm. 

THE    OLD    FAMILY    BIBLE. 

*  As  time  passes  and  we  begin  to  realize  that  all  is  gone, 
there  is  a  desire  to  find  something,  even  if  it  is  of  no  value,  when 
the  wreckage  is  cleared  away.  My  wife  expressed  the  wish  that 
the  family  Bible  anight  be  found,  be  it  ever  so  dirty  and  torn.  It 
contained  records  that  could  be  nowhere  else  secured,  and  if  a  new 
one  is  purchased  and  the  records  again  written,  it  must  be  entirely 
from  memory. 

"  But  though  we  lost  all,  we  were  among  those  families 
where  no  life  was  sacrificed  in  the  storm,  and  in  that  respect  were 
more  fortunate  than  some  of  our  neighbors  and  mau}^  of  our 
friends.  The  number  of  broken  families  in  Galveston  seems 
innumerable.  As  one  walks  the  streets  he  meets  friends  of  whom 
he  had  never  thought,  and  the  first  greeting  is  'Did  3^ou  save  all 
your  family  ?  '  An  affirmative  answer  brings  out  the  remark, 
'You  are  lucky  ;  many  have  lost  not  only  all  their  worldly  goods 
but  their  families.'  " 

"  In  many  instances  the  reply  is  that  your  friend  has  saved 
his  family  but  has  lost  his  other  relatives.     It  seems  that  there  is 


442  GALVESTON    STORM    STORIES. 

scarcely  au  individual  in  tlie  city  wlio  "has  not  lost  some  relative. 
Where  tlie  loss  is  not  positive  it  is  believed  to  have  occurred, 
because  no  nev/s  of  the  supposed  dead  ones  has  been  received. 

"  Tales  of  rescues   and    narrow  escapes  continue  to  come  to 
light,  but  to  record  them   all   would   require  the  work  of  hours  in 
writing  up   and    fill   the  paper  full  to  the  brim  with  this  class  of| 
matter  alone. 

"The  stores  and  groceries  are  again  getting  down  to  business, 
but  they  are  badly  handicapped  by  damaged  stock,  more  especially 
the  dry  goods  and  clothing  stores.  A  complete  overhauling  of 
these  establishments  has  been  necessary  and  the  separation  and 
sorting  out  and  drying  of  damaged  goods  is  not  yet  complete. 
Those  which  have  fully  opened  for  business  are  crowded  with  cus- 
tomers, and  in  some  instances  it  is  still  necessary  to  keep  the 
crowds  out,  letting  in  only  a  few  customers  at  a  time. 

HARD    WORKED    CLERKS. 

"  The  clerks  are  a  hard  worked  set  of  people  just  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  With  the  changes  in  overhauling  the  stock  the}^  have 
not  yet  become  acquainted  with  the  exact  location  of  articles 
called  for,  and  it  requires  a  search  to  find  them.  This  naturally 
retards  the  quick  execution  of  business,  and  throws  additional 
labor  on  those  waiting  on  the  customers.  But  order  is  rapidly 
being  evoked  out  of  the  chaos  existing  after  the  storm,  and  in 
the  course  of  time  things  will  be  moving  along  with  their  old-time 
uniformity. 

"  The  street  forces  have  got  fairly  to  work  on  the  business 
streets,  and  they  are  rapidly  assuming  a  more  passable  condition. 
Drays  are  hauling  away  the  trash,  and  in  the  course  of  a  week  or 
so  the  worst  evidence  of  the  storm  will  be  removed.  The  damaged 
buildings  will  take  longer  to  repair,  but  the  streets  will  present 
more  of  the  old-time  aspect  than  for  the  past  week. 

"Work  on  the  pile  of  wreckage  back  from  the  beach  is  pro- 
gressing, and  now  and  then  one  hears  of  bodies  taken  from  the 
ruins,  clearly  showing  that  the  full  extent  of  the  loss  of  life  has 
not  yet  been  realized. 


GALVESTON   ^^TORM    STORIES.  443 

"  In  this  storm  the  usual  conditions  have  been  reversed. 
Whereas,  in  wrecks  by  wind,  water  or  rail,  first  reports  greatly 
magnify  the  loss  of  life,  while  in  the  present  case  it  seems  that 
the  estimate  of  lives  lost  is  increasing  rather  than  diminishing  as 
each  day  passes.  While  tlie  total  will  never  be  known,  it  will  be 
far  above  the  earl}^  estimates. 

"  The  relief  system  is  fairly  in  operation,  and  it  is  now  claimed 
that  no  one  need  go  hungry  except  able-bodied  men  who  refuse  to 
labor.  But  it  should  be  understood  that  those  desiring  relief 
should  go  to  the  different  ward  headquarters,  or  send  some  one. 
The  committees  and  heads  of  departments  have  no  facilities  for 
forwarding  goods  to  the  destitute  in  the  various  portions  of  the 
city.  Their  time  is  taken  up  with  procuring  and  distributing 
supplies  from  the  various  headquarters. 

REASONS  FOR  BURNING  RUINS. 

"Suggestions  have  been  made  to  burn  the  pile  of  lumber 
of  all  kinds  in  the  rafts,  but  this  seems  both  impracticable  and 
unadvisable.  If  it  can  be  preserved,  every  stick  and  board  will  be 
of  use  hereafter.  The  only  reasons  for  burning  the  rafts  given 
are  that  it  will  cremate  the  bodies  of  the  dead  known  to  be  in  some 
and  supposed  to  be  in  almost  all  of  them.  Sickness  resulting  from 
the  decaying  bodies  is  predicted  if  this  is  not  done.  But  if  it  is 
attempted  more  loss  of  life  is  likely  to  occur  from  it  than  will 
result  from  sickness  arising  from  putrid  bodies. 

"  Once  let  the  fire  demon  get  hold  of  the  immense  masses  of 
lumber  and  the  remaining  portion  of  the  city  may  be  wiped  out. 
No  one  who  has  seen  a  conflagration  in  a  city  can  doubt  that  all 
the  fire  apparatus  in  Texas  would  be  ineffectual  to  stop  the 
march  of  the  flames  to  the  bay  in  case  of  a  strong  south 
wind.  Many  houses,  partially  wrecked,  are  in  the  piles,  and 
many  household  goods  belonging  to  people  who  have  lost  all . 
may  be  recovered.  Disinfect  the  rafts  as  far  as  possible,  and  _ 
remove  the  lumber.  Preserve  it  as  far  as  can  be  done  conve- 
niently. It  will  be  needed  for  building  temporary  homes  for  the 
destitute. 


444  GALVESTON    STORM    STORIES. 

"  We  have  thousands  of  homeless  people  in  the  cit3^  and 
while  free  transportation  is  offered  to  those  who  \vish  to  go,  there 
are  many  who  have  no  friends  to  go  to.  These  people  must  be 
cared  for.  Some  are  now  crowded  in  the  homes  of  friends,  and 
others  are  located  in  the  large  buildings  in  the  business  district. 
All  are  only  temporaril}-  provided  for.  Something  must  be  done  to 
house  them,  at  least  temporarily,  when  cold  weather  approaches. 
It  would  be  well  to  issue  permits  for  temporary  buildings  to  be 
erected  from  the  debris  of  wrecked  homes,  without  regard  to  the 
fire  rules  of  the  city  as  they  now  stand,  but  with  the  distinct  pro- 
viso that  they  should  be  removed  after  a  certain  date.  I  am  no 
advocate  of  ramshackle  shanties  as  permanent  buildings  in  the 
city,  in  any  part  of  it,  but  I  appreciate  the  fact  that  we  are  facin,Q, 
an  emergency  that  requires  prompt  action  to  prevent  severe  suf- 
fering in  the  near  future. 

A  CHARITABLE    PEOPLE. 

^Galveston's  people  have  not  in  the  past  turned  their  faces 
against  the  suffering  poor,  and  I  do  not  think  they  will  do  so  in 
the  future.  While  strong,  substantial  buildings  should  be  required 
in  permanent  structures,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  wreckage 
should  not  be  used  in  erecting  temporar}^  shelter  for  the  home- 
less. Lumber  promises  to  be  a  scarce  article  when  once  the 
resumption  of  building  is  begun,  and  every  board,  rafter  and 
scantling  on  the  pile  of  wreckage  should  be  saved. 

"  There  is  valuable  wreckage  strewn  through  the  rafts.  There 
are  desks  and  trunks  that  may  contain  papers  of  value  to  the 
owners  but  valueless  to  others.  These  should  be  placed  aside  and 
saved  for  identification  by  their  owners.  Articles  of  personal 
apparel  may  some  time  be  of  use  in  settling  the  estates  of  the 
dead.  Wills  may  be  found  stowed  away  in  frail  desks  that  by 
some  chance  may  have  escaped  total  wreckage  in  the  storm. 
Jewelry  and  personal  ornaments  are  not  unlikeh'  to  be  found  in 
places  where  least  expected.  People  fleeing  from  wrecked  houses 
do  not  stop  to  search  in  trunks  for  jewel  boxes.     Many  of  them 


GALVi:STON    STORM    STORIICS.  445 

doubtless  remain  iu  the  mass  of  cliaos-like  wreckage  and  may  be 
recovered  as  the  piles  are  cleared  away. 

"In  a  walk  over  the  flats  on  Friday  I  turned  off  the  water — 
or  rather  turned  the  faucets  so  as  to  prevent  the  water  ruuning 
out — wherever  I  saw  a  water  pipe,  and  I  would  suggest  that  others 
seeing  water  pipes  should  do  the  same  thing.  The  waterworks 
employes  are  doubtless  looking  after  these  pipes  as  far  as  practical, 
but  where  so  large  a  district  is  covered  as  in  the  late  storm  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  find  all  of  them.  Water  is  the  prime  neces- 
sit}^  at  this  time,  and  every  pipe  turned  off  saves  that  much  watei 
when  the  works  once  start  up." 

Mr.  David  H.  Hall,  city  electrician,  completed  a  thoroug] 
canvass  of  the  condition  of  affairs  regarding  the  electric  plant  of 
the  city.  He  said  it  was  like  awakening  from  a  nightmare  to  get 
around  and  hustle  to  repair  the  appalling  losses  and  destruction 
of  propert3^  Speaking  after  his  canvass  of  the  cit}'  and  inspec- 
tion of  the  city's  electric  light  plant,  Mr.  Hall  said  : 

PREPARING  TO  LIGHT  THE  CITY. 

"  While  the  damage  to  the  municipal  electric  light  pictnt  is 
Very  extensive,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  salvage  and  nothing  to 
interfere  with  an  early  resumption  of  operations.  Temporary 
sheds  will  be  erected  at  once  over  the  engines  and  dynamos  and 
they  will  be  soon  put  in  condition  for  service.  The  principal 
mains,  on  Market  street  and  Ball  avenue,  I  find  to  be  intact. 
The  engines  can  be  operated  as  soon  as  the  steam  pipes  and  the 
breaching  to  the  boilers  can  be  repaired.  We  will  have  the  busi- 
ness district  between  avenue  A  and  Church  street,  Twentieth 
street  and  Rosenberg  avenue,  lighted  within  a  week  or  ten  days. 
This  is  about  the  earliest  date  that  we  deem  it  safe  to  turn  on  the ' 
current  owing  to  the  amount  of  debris  in  the  streets,  the  large 
number  of  men  engaged  in  saving  property  and  the  menace  to 
life  and  property  that  an  electric  current  might  prove  to  be. 

"One  circuit  in  the  business  district  will  be  completed  in  two 
days.  The  entire  lighting  service  iu  that  territory  embracing 
Tenth   street   to  Thirty-seventh    street,  avenues  A  to  avenues   K 


446  GALVESTON    STORM    STORIES. 

and  Iv,  can  be  restored  and  in  operation  within  sixty  days.  Th& 
lighting  service  for  the  public  buildings  will  be  reinstalled  as  soon 
as  the  buildings  are  put  in  condition  to  receive  the  wiring.  1  have 
received  such  generous  and  noble  offers  of  assistance  from  strong 
financial  quarters  in  the  north  that  we  will  be  able  to  secure  all 
the  material  necessary  to  restore  the  plant  and  sj^stem  at  our  own 
terms  and  have  as  long  as  the  city  wants  to  pa}^  for  same.  The 
I  most  regrettable  and  deplorable  feature  to  me  is  the  loss  of  fifteen 
of  my  employes  and  their  families. 

"I  am  not  inclined  to  give  up  or  lose  courage  or  heart,  and  I 
feel  like  the  old  king  at  the  siege  of  Megara,  who  is  reported  to 
have  said  when  taken  prisoner :  '  My  palace  has  fiilleu  about 
my  head,  my  city  is  in  flames,  my  state  ravaged  by  my  enemies, 
my  wife  and  children  I  know  not  where  ;  no  cloak  to  shield  me 
from  cold,  but  I  have  lost  nothing.  I  have  my  intellect,  my  faith, 
my  courage  and  my  loyalty.  These  can  not  be  taken  from  me, 
and,  having  them,  I  have  lost  nothing.' 

OVERCOMING   DISASTERS. 

"Despite  our  tremendous  losses,  we  can  save  much  and  make 
good  much  if  we  have  not  lost  our  heart  and  courage.  Galveston 
will  be  restored  ;  if  not  b}^  us,  by  sturdier  men  who  are  equal  to 
the  task.  I  was  living  in  Chicago  at  the  time  of  the  great  fire  in 
1S71.  Many  men,  and  some  of  them  of  apparent  good  judgment, 
declared  that  Chicago  would  never  be  restored  ;  would  never  rise 
from  the  ashes.  Within  one  year  there  was  a  better  Chicago 
than  ever  before.  Four  years  ago  I  went  through  the  track  of 
the  St.  Louis  cyclone,  and  the  same  was  said  of  that  city.  Now 
there  is  nothing  to  be  seen  there  but  scars  of  that  awful  storm. 

"The  same  will  be  with  Galveston.  In  three  or  four  years, 
or  less,  Galveston  will  be  as  great,  if  indeed  not  greater,  than  she 
was  before  the  storm,  if  the  people  are  true  to  themselves.  It  is 
surprising  what  can  be  done  where  willing  and  cheerful  hearts  go 
to  work  and  w^ork  in  the  right  way.  GaJveston  citizens  are  not 
onl}'  hopeful  but  determined  that  the  city  shall  be  resurrected,  as 
it  were,  aud  when  that  spirit  animates  us  enough  is  said." 


GALVESTON    STORM   STORIES.  44? 

Did  you  ever  feel  the  thrilling  experience  of  being  on  a 
ship  as  she  was  just  in  the  act  of  sinking  ?  "  said  a  sunburnt  sailor 
to  a  citizen.  He  was  one  of  the  survivors  of  the  ill-fated  dredge 
boat  which  sank  near  Texas  City. 

"The  night  of  the  terrible  hurricane  at  Galveston,"  he  con- 
tinued, "it  was  predicted  by  several  of  us  on  board  the  dredge 
boat  that  a  destructive  storm  was  approaching,  and  it  was  deemed 
best  to  put  out  all  anchors.  We  had  no  more  than  done  so  when 
the  wind  veered  to  the  southeast.  We  had  not  put  out  all  of  the 
anchors  any  too  soon,  for  of  all  the  high  winds  and  waves,  those 
that  lashed  our  boat  were  the  worst  I  have  ever  seen. 

"I  have  been  in  many  a  shipwreck,  and  realized  that  it  was 
only  a  short  time  before  I  would  be  in  another  world,  for  I  felt 
the  boat  dragging  her  anchors  and  drifting  inland  at  a  terrific 
speed.      We  were  then  some  eight  or  ten  miles  from  shore. 

BOAT  PASSING  OVER  TREE  TOPS. 

"Ic  seemed  to  me  only  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  before  the 
fury  of  the  storm  struck  us.  I  saw  our  boat  passing  over  tree 
tops.  I  knew  we  were  then  approaching  the  bay  shore,  and  pos- 
sessing that  knowledge  as  to  when  to  leave  a  sinking  ship,  I  pro- 
cured some  fifteen  life  preservers  and  gave  one  each  to  the  crew, 
and  told  each  man  how  to  put  them  on  and  to  follow  me  to  the 
upper  deck,  and  be  ready  to  dive  off  when  I  gave  the  word. 

"They  were  all  frightened  nearly  to  death,  and  only  two 
succeeded  in  getting  their  life  preservers  on  and  reaching  the  top 
deck  with  me.  When  the  fearful  moment  came  for  man  to  battle 
with  the  winds  and  water,  I  gave  command  to  jump.  In  an 
instant  three  of  us  made  a  plunge  into  an  immense  breaker,  which 
carried  us  high  into  the  air. 

"  I  looked  back  and  could  see  nothing  of  the  boat  that  I  had 
just  abandoned.  I  have  been  informed  that  she  went  ashore 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  west  of  Texas  Cit3\  If  the  other  ten 
poor  souls  were  saved,  I  have  not  heard  of  them. 

"  Do  you  know  there  is  something  thrilling  and  exciting 
about  being   shipwrecked  when   j^ou   are  near  the  shores.     I  pre- 


,.JS  GALVESTON    STORM    SIORIKS. 

Slime  a  man  feels  the  same  that  a  parachute  man  does  -when  he 
gets  near  the  ground  in  his  downward  flight.  If  his  parachute 
works  all  right  he  is  safe.  With  a  sailor  he  must  first  adjust  his 
life  preserver  and  try  to  avoid  the  rocks  and  trees." 

Mr.  H.  W.  Dorris,  of  Houston,  was  one  of  the  relief  party 
that  helped  to  bur}^  the  dead  as  they  washed  ashore  from  Gal- 
vestoii.  At  daybreak  he  was  unable  to  secure  a  boat  of  an}'  kiud 
to  cross,  but  he  and  two  others  constructed  a  raft  of  some  loose 
planks  and  started  across  the  bay,  reaching  the  draw  of  the  Gal- 
veston, Houston  and  Henderson  bridge.  They  were  unable  to  go 
any  further  or  cross  the  channel,  the  party  being  entirel}^ 
exhausted,  and  after  signaling  distress  for  more  than  an  hour,  the 
tramp  ship  grounded  at  the  wagon  road  bridge,  in  the  middle  oi 
the  bay,  finally  sent  a  lifeboat  to  the  rescue  of  the  party,  taking 
them  ashore  to  the  Galveston  side.  Mr.  Dorris  states  that  the 
party  saw  no  less  than  600  dead  bodies  between  the  bridge  and 
the  Santa  Fe  depot. 

GLARED  AT   THE  THRONG. 

He  stood  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Congress  streets  m  a 
half  dazed  condition.  He  glared  at  the  great  throng  that  was 
passing,  some  on  business  bent  while  others  were  seeking  the 
latest  news  and  hunting  their  relatives.  He  did  not  observe  that 
he  was  being  watched,  nor  would  he  have  cared,  for  the  expression 
upon  his  face  showed  him  to  be  a  man  of  great  determination  to  be 
brave  under  the  greatest  misfortune  of  his  life.  You  could  trace 
in  his  every  action  a  man  in  great  sorrow. 

But  he  had  to  show  his  emotion  and  give  vent  to  his  feelings, 
which  so  long  he  tried  to  smother  ;  mechanically  he  raised  his 
hand  and  covered  his  face  in  order  to  hide  his  grief  As  he 
took  his  hands  down  he  wiped  both  eyes,  which  had  been  flowing 
with  tears.  At  this  juncture  he  was  approached  by  a  citizen  who, 
in  kind  tones,   asked  him  of  his  solicitations  and  grief 

He  said  :  "  I  am  trying  to  be  strong  both  in  mind  and  body, 
but  I  cannot  suppress  my  feelings  in  this  public  thoroughfare. 
Yes  sir,  I  am   suffering,  mourning  for  the   dead  ;  ni}-   wife   and 


GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES.  .449 

sweet  baby  are  among  those  who  have  gone  to  the  great  be- 
yond." 

'*  How  did  it  occur  and  how  did  you  escape  ?" 

"  Six  weeks  ago  I  kissed  her  (my  wife)  and  my  darling  baby 
good-bye  and  took  the  first  train  for  an  interior  town,  where  I  had 
secured  employment.  By  correspondence  it  was  arranged  between 
us  that  she  was  to  come  to  me  on  Monday.  The  storm  occurred 
Saturdy  night  and  she  and  the  baby  were  drowned. 

"  Were  the  corpses  found  ?  "  was  asked. 

"  Yes.  She  had  the  baby  clasped  in  her  arms.  She  was 
found  within  fif/.y  feet  of  where  our  once  happy  home  stood.  She 
was  given  as  decent  a  burial  as  circumstances  would  permit.  I  am 
sorry,  but  I  cannot  talk  any  further  upon  this  subject,  as  my  grief 
knows  no  bounds." 

THE    USUAL  QUESTIONS. 

After  uttering  the  last  sentence  he  pulled  his  hat  down  over 
his  ^yes  and  he  passed  into  the  crowded  throng  that  was  headed 
down  the  street.     He  looked  around  and  said  : 

"There  are  hundreds  of  cases  that  are  similar  to  mine,  the 
result  of  this  great  hurricane." 

"  Was  your  fath<)r,  mother,  brother,  sister,  son  or  daughter 
or  other  relatives  saved  from  the  Galveston  horror  ?  "  are  ques- 
tions that  are  frequently  heard  asked  as  friends  meet  and  greet 
each  other  in  Houston. 

"  Yes,"  said  a  gentleman  speaking  to  another,  who  asked  him 
if  his  son  was  safe.  "I  have  just  returned  from  Galveston  with 
him.  You  would  hardly  recognize  him,  though,  bruised,  battered 
and  bleeding,  with  a  bandage  around  his  head  and  his  arm  in  a 
sling.  These  wounds  were  not  caused  by  trying  to  save  himself, 
but  others.  He  was  boarding  with  some  life-long  friends  of  our 
family  who  had  been  extremely  kind  to  him.  When  the  storm 
was  at  it  height  and  danger  appeared  on  every  hand  and  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  abandon  their  home  to  its  fate,  Charlie  was 
the  sole  protector  of  two  lone  women.  He  took  the  elder  one  first 
and  carried  her  to    a    place    of  safety,   after  being  washed  about 

29 


450  GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES. 

by  tlie  water  and  debris  of  trees  and  buildings  for  an  bour  or 
more 

"  Wben  tbe  storm  was  raging  in  its  greatest  fury  be  returned 
to  tbe  bome  of  bis  friend  for  tbe  young  lady.  Reacbing  bet  he 
was  surprised  to  find  tbe  water  nearly  five  feet  deep  all  around  tbe 
place,  and  tbe  bouse  careened  over,  nearly  ready  to  fall.  Witb 
bis  arm  tigbtly  clasped  into  bers  tbey  started  for  tbe  bigb 
ground.  Tbe  Gulf  was  now  raging  in  all  its  madness  ;  billows 
were  piling  many  feet  into  tbe  air,  and  eacb  billow  seemed  to  vie 
witb  tbe  otber  as  to  wbicb  could  raise  its  bead  tbe  bigber,  and  do 
tbe  greatest  destruction. 

"  Sometimes  Cbarlie  and  bis  precious,  belpless  burden  would 
be  entirely  submerged  for  some  time.  At  otber  times  tbey  would 
be  lifted  off  tbeir  feet  and  carried  a  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet.  After  regaining  tbeir  equilibrium  tbey  would  again  forge 
forward  to  meet  tbe  elements,  of  danger  of  life  and  limb.  Eacb 
wave  bad  cunningly  bidden  beneatb  its  sprays  missiles  of  deatb, 
sucb  as  pieces  of  planks,  bouse  tops,  buggies,  wagons,  pianos  and 
otber  articles  too  numerous  to  mention.  It  kept  tbese  two  wearied 
and  exhausted  creatures  nearly  all  tbe  time  dodging  and  escaping 
tbose  deatb  missiles. 

PIANO    TOSSING  IN  THE  WATER. 

'Wben  tbey  bad  nearly  reached  a  place  of  safety  tbey 
noticed  a  larger  wave  than  usual  coming.  Charlie  saw  upon  its 
crest  an  upright  piano  being  tossed  about  as  though  it  were  a 
feather.  Would  it  miss  them  ?  was  the  question  that  flashed  into 
both  of  tbeir  minds. 

"  Onward  it  came,  witb  its  ivory  keys,  showing  it  was  once  a 
'  messenger  of  joy  and  happiness,  but  it  was  now  a  messenger  of 
deatb,  for  with  one  mighty  bound  it  went  straight  up  into  tbe  air 
upon  tbe  foaming  and  frothy  water  and  plunged  straight  down  at 
Cbarlie  and  bis  fair  companion.  He  saw  that  be  bad  to  make  one 
more  de££tb  struggle  in  an  instant.  He  threw  himself  in  front  of 
bis  lone  midnight  charge  and  placed  her  arms  around  bis  body 
and  told  her  to  bold  on  to  him  witb  all  her  strength. 


GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES.  451 

"The  supreme  moment  was  over — tlie  piano  had  been 
thwarted  in  its  effort  to  crusli  them,  but  in  the  struggle  Charlie 
found  that  he  had  been  torn  loose  from  his  lady  friend,  who  had 
been  swallowed  up  by  the  raging  wave.  He  at  once  began  a  search 
by  feeling  and  diving  for  her.  Not  a  flash  of  lightning,  nor  the 
glimmer  of  an  arc  light  was  visible,  for,  like  the  life  of  this  dear 
creature  who  was  engulfed  by  the  torrent  waters,  they  had  gone 

out. 

"  At  this  juncture  a  remarkable  thing  happened.  He  had 
decided  to  dive  once  more.  He  did  so,  and  grasped  the  hand  of 
what  he  thought  to  be  his  missing  friend.  He  was  overjoyed,  but 
upon  bringing  her  to  the  surface  he  found  that  it  was  not  her,  but 
another. 

"The  waters  had  increased  so  in  depth  by  this  time  that  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  attempt  to  wade,  and  about  this  time  a 
house  top  came  along  and  he  crawled  upon  it.  While  drifting 
about  on  it,  he  picked  up  four  boys  from  6  to  12  years  of  age.  His 
frail  craft  finally  drifted  to  a  place  of  safety,  where  he  and  his 
young  companions  were  rescued." 

ATTRACTED   NO  ATTENTION. 

So  many  are  the  stories,  so  harrowing  the  details,  and  so 
miraculous  the  escapes  that  for  the  present  the  experiences  of 
different  persons  on  the  night  of  the  storm  in  Houston  attracted 
no  attention  ;  in  fact,  if  a  person  wished  to  tell  of  his  experience 
in  Houston  that  night  he  could  scarcely  find  an  interested 
listener. 

Nevertheless,  Mr.  Fred.  Chadly,  who  lives  near  the  Arkansas 
Pass  depot,  came  as  near  losing  his  life  that  fatal  night  as  did 
any  who  passed  through  its  fury  in  the  city  of  Galveston  and 
escaped.  Mr.  Chadly  left  the  Capitol  Hotel  for  home  about  10 
o'clock,  not  realizing  the  intensity  of  the  storm. 

After  an  hour's  fighting  the  strong  wind  and  rain  and  dodg- 
ing falling  trees  and  flying  debris  of  all  kinds,  he  arrived  at  his 
house  only  to  find  the  front  door  inipregnably  barricaded  by  a 
large  fallen  tree.     Nothing  daunted,  however,  Mr.  Chadly  imme- 


452  GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES. 

diately  proceeded  to  make   liis  way  around  to  the  back  of  the 
house  and  gain  an  entrance  there. 

He  was  walking  in  a  crouching  position  with  his  head  bent 
down  so  that  the  wind  would  not  strike  him  squarel}^  in  the  face, 
and  was  not  looking  ahead,  therefore  the  large  cypress  cistern,  as 
it  tottered  on  its  foundation  preparatory  to  being  blown  down, 
escaped  his  notice  until  he  was  too  late  to  dodge  it.  The  cistern 
was  blown  over,  turning  twice  in  rapid  succession,  falling  top 
downward  directly  over  Mr.  Chadly. 

The  cistern  was  about  one-third  full  of  water,  but  as  Mr. ' 
Chadly  was  already  thoroughly  wet,  the  water  made  ver}^  little 
difference,  as  it  soon  ran  out.  Mr.  Chadly  called  loudly  for  help, 
but  owing  to  the  pandemonium  caused  by  the  hurricane,  no  one 
heard  him.  The  next  morning  the  carpenter  came  to  fix  the 
cistern,  and  after  raising  it  discovered  Mr.  Chadly,  who  was  nearly 
smothered  to  death. 

HOUSE  ROLLED  MANY  YARDS. 

One  of  the  experiences  of  the  storm  was  that  of  Miss  Reine 
Stanton  of  Houston,  who,  with  her  father  and  a  younger  sister, 
were  camping  on  her  farm  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Letitia. 
The  house  rolled  for  a  distance  of  200  yards  and  then  collapsed. 
The  girls  were  rescued  several  hours  later  in  an  unconscious  con- 
dition, but,  though  quite  seriously  injured,  they  may  recover.  All 
the  buildings  on  the  place  were  wrecked. 

"You  have  often  heard  that  men  are  fond  of  the  'jug,"  said 
one  of  the  refugees.  "  Well,  I  am  fond  of  two  jugs,  for  they  are 
the  cause  of  my  being  here  to-day.  I  owned  a  little  shanty  on 
the  west  end  of  Galveston  Island,  and,  like  many  others  who 
lived  there,  I  thought  and  argued  that  we  were  not  in  the  storm 
center,  and  had  seen  the  water  come  up  near  my  shanty  man 3^  times 
before  and  recede.  This  time  it  not  only  came  up  to  my  little 
home,  but  into  it.  After  waiting  patiently  for  it  to  go  down,  it 
kept  climbing  higher  and  higher  into  it.  It  dawned  upon  me  all 
of  a  sudden  that  all  means  of  escape  had  been  cut  off. 

"  I  looked  around  for  something  that  would  bear  my  weight 


GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES.  458 

Upon  tlie  water.  I  saw  in  the  corner  of  my  house  two  two-gallon 
jugs.  I  took  them  and  securely  fastened  a  stopper  in  each  and 
got  a  piece  of  rope  and  then  fastened  them  to  my  body  by  passing 
the  rope  around  under  my  arms,  and  securely  tying  them  to  each 
other.  I  then  went  out  on  the  gallery  and  when  the  crash  came 
I  dove  off  into  the  maddening  waters.  I  suppose  that  I  was 
carried  about  twenty  miles  down  the  island  and  thence  back,  God 
.knows  how  far,  and  inland  about  eight  miles.  When  I  became 
conscious  it  was  nearly  daylight  Monday  morning.  I  walked  here, 
where  I  have  some  friends,  and  have  been  recuperating. 

''Yes,  I  believe  in  jugs,  at  least  for  life  saving  purposes 
only." 

An  amusing  incident  occurred  at  the  International  and  Great 
Northern  depot.  One  of  the  ladies'  relief  corps  from  the  North 
was  highly  indignant  and  pitched  into  Superintendent  Trice 
because  sleepers  were  not  attached  to  the  train  going  down  to 
Texas  City. 

\A^ANTED  PALACE    CARS. 

"  We've  rode  in  those  Pullmans  all  the  way  from  New 
York,  and  it's  a  shame  and  outrage  that  you  intend  making 
us  ride  in  a  day  coach  now.  We  want  those  sleepers  to  live  in." 
She  was  wrathy,  but  when  the  colonel  informed  her  that  before 
the  party  got  out  at  Galveston  they'd  have  to  walk  on  dead  bodies, 
wade  through  slush  and  slime  and  have  a  tough  time  generally 
she'd  think  a  day  coach  was  a  palace,  she  said  no  more.  It  is 
evident  that  some  of  the  "  relief  corps"  consider  the  trip  a 
pleasure  jaunt.  When  they  have  been  in  Galveston  a  few  days 
they  will  probably  change  their  minds. 

"  First  reports  of  storm  damage  are  always  rather  exagger- 
ated," remarked  a  gentleman  of  the  Areola  plantation.  "  At  first 
everything  looks  as  though  it  were  completely  wrecked,  but  after 
the  calm  comes  and  the  work  of  straightening  up  begins  it  is 
astonishing  to  see  how  little  property  really  is  damaged.  We  had 
considerable  damage  on  our  place.  The  cabins  blew  down  and  the 
convict  house  was  unroofed.  When  this  occurred  we  turned  all  the 


454  GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES. 

convicts  out  on  tlie  prairie  and  tlie  next  morning  all  of  them 
voluntarily  reported  for  duty  except  six,  and  they  worked  like 
trojans  assisting  in  the  work  of  cleaning  up.  The  cane  crop  suffered 
considerably,  but  is  by  no  means  a  loss.  It  is  recuperating  nicely. 
Very  little   corn  was  lost,  because  most  of  it  was  gathered." 

Mr.  Fred.  Erickson,  who  returned  from  Galveston,  says  he 
saw  a  lady,  who  was  drowned  among  the  many  others  on  a  burial 
barge,  who  had  on  a  fine  watch,  diamond  earrings,  several  dia- 
mond finger  rings  ;  besides,  he  noticed  that  she  wore  gold  clasp 
garters  with  her  name  upon  them. 

He  asked  the  party  in  charge  why  these  valuables  were  not 
removed  and  the  garters  removed  as  a  means  of  identification, 
and  he  was  told  that  they  were  not  allowed  to  remove  anything 
from  the  bodies,  no  matter  how  valuable  and  how  it  might  aid  in 
future  identification. 

JEWELS    ON  THE    DEAD. 

He  noticed  a  woman  floating  in  the  water,  and  he  and  a 
policeman  turned  her  over,  and  attached  to  her  bosom  was  a  very 
fine  gold  watch  with  her  name  upon  it.  He  called  the  police- 
man's attention  to  the  importance  of  securing  the  watch  for  future 
identification,  and  was  given  the  same  information. 

Mrs.  John  P.  Smart  returned  from  Galveston  on  board  the 
steamer  "  Lawrence,"  along  with  about  400  women  and  children. 
Mrs.  Smart  had  been  in  Galveston  for  some  three  weeks,  and 
came  away  on  the  first  trip  made  by  the  "Lawrence."  She  said  of 
her  experience  during  the  storm  : 

"At  3  o'clock  Saturday  afternoon,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of 
the  lady  of  the  house  to  persuade  us  all  to  remain  at  home,  we 
set  out  for  a  place  of  safety,  the  Atlanta  Hotel.  The  water  was 
then  three  feet  deep  on  avenue  P.  On  the  way  to  the  hotel  I  saw 
three  women  drowned.  They  were  making  their  way  down  the 
street  and  were  blown  down  by  the  wind  and  lost.  We  left  the 
house  none  too  soon.  After  the  storm  not  a  trace  of  it  could  be 
found. 

"The  wind  was  then  blowing  at  the  rate  of  about  sixty  miles 


GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES.  455 

an  hour.  At  ii  o'clock,  when  tlie  wind  was  at  its  heiglit,  tlie 
water  around  the  Atlanta  Hotel  was  nine  feet  deep  and  the  build- 
ing shook  terribly.  As  the  windows  were  blown  in,  the  men 
stopped  them  up  again  with  doors.  But  when  the  worst  w^as  over 
and  the  house  still  stood,  we  found  that  not  one  of  all  those  who 
had  crowded  there  for  refuge  was  lost. 

'•  The  sight  on  Sunday  morning  defies  description.  One 
could  not  look  in  any  direction  without  seeing  scores  of  human 
bodies.  One  building  in  the  west  end,  in  which  between  400  and 
500  had  taken  shelter,  went  down  and  every  human  being  in  it 
was  lost.  Not  a  house  was  left  along  the  beach.  On  the  bay 
shore  I  saw  three  men  on  horseback  dead.  Horses  and  riders, 
with  reins  gripped  as  if  to  ride  through  the  peril  at  any  cost,  had 
passed  over  the  river. 

MAJORITY    KILLED  OUTRIGHT. 

"There  were  a  number  injured,  but  the  overwhelming  major- 
ity were  killed  outright.  The  injured  were  taken  care  of  at  the 
Sealy  and  St.  Mary's  hospitals,  both  of  which  were  injured,  but 
not  totally  destroyed.  There  are  doctors  enough  in  Galveston, 
but  medical  supplies  are  needed. 

"  One  pitiful  incident  came  under  my  observation.  Mrs. 
Baldwin  clung  to  a  raft  for  twelve  hours,  from  six  o'clock  Satur- 
day night  until  six  Sunday  morning,  holding  a  child,  a  bab}^  two 
years  old,  in  her  arms.  The  baby  begged  her  to  save  its  dosf,  a 
beautiful  St.  Bernard,  too.  Of  course  this  was  impossible.  The 
baby  was  killed  in  its  mother's  arms  b}^  flying  debris  and  the  dog 
was  saved. 

"  The  horror  of  that  Sunday  morning  I  shall  never  forget ; 
white,  ghastly  corpses  turning  up  their  faces  to  the  light, 
or  clinging  to  a  child  or  loved  one,  their  twisted, 
agonized  faces,  showing  the  anguish  of  that  last  unequal' 
struggle  against  death,  were  everywhere.  One  woman  I  saw 
holding  fast  to  two  bags  of  silver,  as  if  to  say  :  '  Better  die  than  be 
a  beggar.'  Nearly  all  the  west  end  people  were  lost.  Those  who 
sought  safety  in  large  houses   had  but  the  grim   consolation   of 


45G  GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES. 

d3aug  iu  company,  for  fhe  whole  of  tliat  portion  of  tte  city  was 
destroyed.  The  work  of  rescue  began  as  soon  as  the  storm 
abated.  But  the  crowd  of  survivors  on  the  street  Sunday  morn- 
ing was  pitiably  small.  They  seemed  to  me  scarce  10,000.  Clad 
in  next  to  nothing,  bathing  suits  and  the  like,  the  sun  brought 
'them  ouly  the  sight  of  dead  relatives  and  friends — some  starva 
tion, 

"  There  was  no  food  and  no  water.  For  two  days  I  tasted 
no  water  and  food  was  scarce  indeed.  The  city,  as  soon  as  soldiers 
could  be  gotten,  was  put  under  the  strictest  martial  law,  under  pro- 
tect of  Mayor  Jones  and  Chief  of  Police  Ketchum.  These  officials 
desired  to  enforce  the  law  by  civil  authority.  Fully  seventy-five 
men  have  been  killed  for  looting  the  dead  and  refusing  to  halt 
when  ordered.  Every  house  has  to  be  guarded  lest  thieves  break 
in  them  and  steal. 

OCEAN  GIVING  UP  ITS  DEAD. 

"  The  '  Ivawrence  '  which  at  first  was  under  the  cufitrol  of  the 
relief  committee  and  charged  nothing  for  passage,  now  exacts  $2 
per  capita  to  Texas  City.  Besides  this,  there  are  three  boats  in 
the  service.  The  only  way  to  get  away  from  Galveston  is  to  go 
by  boat  to  Texas  City,  where  there  are  about  1000  women  and 
children  and  almost  no  accommodations. 

"  The  bodies  have  been  all  cleared  away  from  the  central 
portion  of  the  town  and  there  is  a  continual  stream  of  corpse  laden 
floats,  drays,  etc.,  to  the  barges.  The  west  end  has  been  set  on 
fire,  as  the  mass  of  wreckage  there  makes  recovery  impossible. 
But  the  beach  is  lined  with  bodies  yet.  Every  day  they  wash  up 
upon  the  sand.     Old  ocean  is  giving  up  its  dead. 

"  The  women  and  children  will  probably  be  compelled  tc 
leave.  They  are  badly  iu  need  of  clothes  and  avow  that  they 
want  no  rags  but  nice  new  clothes,  '  to  avoid  epidemic'  I  attrib- 
ute the  terrible  loss  of  life,"  concluded  Mrs.  Smart,  "to  the  fact 
that  the  people  trusted  Galveston  too  much,  and  clung  too  long  to 
a  failing  hope.  This  has  often  appeared  to  be  a  strange  trait  of 
human  nature," 


GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES.  457 

A  correspondent  furnishes  the  following  account  of  a  well- 
known  family  : 

"  One  of  the  saddest  cases  which  has  come  to  light  is  that  of 
the  Jalonick  brothers  of  Dallas.  No  man  is  better  known  than 
Isaacjalonick,  of  Dallas,  who  was  so  long  the  secretary  of  the  Texas 
rating  bureau,  and  he  and  his  brothers  have  hosts  of  friends  all  over 
'Ihe  State.  There  were  three  of  them,  George,  Bd  and  Isaac.  The 
/family  of  Kd  Jalonick,  consisting  of  his  wife,  son  and  daughter, 
the  children  being  3^oung,  came  to  Galveston  several  weeks  ago 
to  spend  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  on  the  Gulf  coast.  They 
had  taken  a  house  on  the  southern  part  of  the  island,  west  of  the 
Denver  resurvey. 

ONE  OF  THE  SADDEST  CASES. 

"  It  was  far  removed  froni  the  city,  and  was  in  a  section 
which  was  so  badly  storm  swept  that  not  a  house  remains.  Mr. 
Jalonick  came  last  week  to  take  his  family  home,  but  the  bad 
weather  interfered  and  the  trip  home  was  postponed.  Saturday 
the  storm  came,  and  when  the  two  brothers,  George  and  Ike,  in 
Dallas,  heard  of  the  disaster  they  came  here  at  once,  to  ascertain 
the  condition  of  their  brother  and  his  family.  They  went  to  the 
former  home  and  but  a  vacant  spot  met  their  anxious  search  for  the 
house  which  had  sheltered  their  loved  ones.  They  decided  to 
make  a  search  among  the  dead  on  the  island,  in  the  hope  that  they 
could  find  the  bodies  and  give  them  decent  burial. 

"For  three  days  they  were  on  the  hunt.  Mounted  and 
accompanied  by  a  team,  with  burial  boxes,  they  moved  across  the 
island  in  every  direction,  examining  every  body  they  found. 
During  their  journey  they  viewed  not  less  than  150  corpses. 
Now  and  again  they  had  found  him  or  her  whom  they  sought. 
Here  it  would  be  a  piece  of  clothing,  there  a  feature,  and  again  the 
form,  but  each  time  only  disappointment  repaid  them  for  the  task 
of  love,  devotion  and  duty  they  had  undertaken.  It  was  an  anxious 
search  with  hope  deferred. 

"  They  had  no  idea  that  they  would  be  successful,  but  so 
anxious  were  they  to  have  their  relatives  given  decent  burial,  so 


458  GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES. 

strong  was  the  desire  to  prevent  them  being  in  an  unmarked 
grave,  or  consigned  to  the  deep,  or  perhaps  cremated  with  hun- 
dreds of  others,  that  they  decided  to  continue  until  every  chance 
of  a  success  was  lost.  Thursday  at  noon  they  were  successful. 
They  had  searched  for  six  miles  west,  and  two  to  two  and  a  half 
miles  across,  when  suddenly  Isaac  recognized  a  shirt  worn  by  a 
body  which  he  found. 

IDENTIFIED   BY  LAUNDRY  MARK. 

"It  was  a  blue  garment,  one  the  brother  had  worn  when 
with  one  of  these  brothers  who  was  searching,  and  its  color  and 
cut  brought  to  mind  days  when  he  and  the  lost  one  were 
together  in  happiness  and  in  health.  They  investigated  and  turn- 
ing back  the  collar  they  found  the  initials  of  their  lost  brother,  as 
the  garment  had  been  marked  by  the  laundry.  This  removed  all 
doubt,  and  the  body  was  put  into  a  box  and  prepared  for  burial. 
It  had  badly  decomposed,  having  laid  for  five  days  where  the 
waves  cast  it,  beneath  the  warm  rays  of  a  summer  sun,  and  exposed 
to  the  elements  of  the  night.  With  the  helpers  they  succeeded  in 
gathering  it  tenderly  into  the  confines  of  a  rough  box. 

"  '  They  dug  out  a  grave  a  few  feet  deep. 

And  there  in  earth's  arms  they  laid  him  to  sleep.' 

"They  did  not  abandon  the  search  because  of  finding  one 
body,  but  continued  it  further  on,  and  at  3  P.  M.  they  found  the 
boy.  The  little  fellow  was  not  far  from  his  father,  showing  that 
the  two  had  remained  together  las  long  as  life  remained  in  the 
parent.  He  was  identified  beyond  all  doubt.  He  was  laid  by  the 
father.  The  two  graves  were  marked,  and  it  is  the  intention  ot 
the  surviving  brothers  to  have  the  bodies  removed  to  the  family 
lot  in  Dallas  as  soon  as  conditions  justify.  They  will  continue! 
the  search  for  the  body  of  Mrs.  Ed  Jalonick  and  the  little  girl." 

It  is  at  a  time  like  the  occasion  of  the  Galveston  storm  when 
real  heroes  are  made,  when  individuals  become  men  of  the  hour, 
and  when  the  true  manhood  of  a  man  is  made  known  to  his  fel- 
lows.    The  silent,  modest,  quiet  man  of  every  day  life  has  never 


•GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES.  459 

tlie  credit  tliat  is  liis  due,  because  he  does  not  seek  the  notoriety 
which  is  necessary.  There  are  men  praised  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States  because  they  were  on  a  boat  at  Santiago  or  Manilla, 
or  followed  a  commander  up  a  hill  at  San  Juan  ;  by  Great  Britain 
because  he  was  of  Modder  river,  Ladysmith,  or  possibly  Pretoria  ; 
and  by  other  countries  because  of  distinguished  bravery  in  battle.. 
They  were  men  who  had  been  schooled  to  danger,  who  had 
gone  into  the  fight,  with  the  one  idea  in  mind,  to  kill  and  be 
killed  for  the  honor  of  the  flag  they  followed.  They  went  into 
the  conflict  believing  that  it  meant  death  or  honors  of  war,  and 
their  heroism  was  of  a  character  qualified  by  the  conditions  lead- 
ing up  to  it.  Not  so  with  the  men  who  passed  through  the  flood 
of  last  Saturday  and  enrolled  their  names  upon  the  tablet  of 
fame.  There  are  many  instances,  but  they  can  not  all  be  told. 
They  were  frequent  during  the  terrible  times  of  that  day.  One 
of  these  has  already  been  told,  that  of  the  act  of  the  boy  of  George 
Walker,  of  Austin,  a  little  fellow  not  yet  in  his  teens,  who,  by 
his  heroic  act,  saved  his  aunt,  who  was  all  but  drowned. 

GALLANT  WORK  OF  FIRE   DEPARTMENT. 

But  one  has  not  been  told.  The  people  of  the  west  end  of 
the  city  speak  in  the  highest  praise  of  the  boys  of  No.  6  fire 
station,  which  is  located  on  Broadway,  near  Thirty-seventh 
street.  When  the  water  was  very  high,  they  secur(^d  their  horses 
in  the  basement  of  the  Broadway  school  building,  tying  high 
their  heads  so  that  they  would  be  saved,  and  they  were  all  brought 
out  alive.  The  men  then  worked  manfully  for  those  about  them; 
man  after  man,  woman  after  woman,  with  many  children  were 
brought  out  of  the  water  by  these  men  of  the  fire-fighting  force, 
and  taken  to  the  large  school  building  opposite  their  station. 
They  saved  many  people.  There  were  1200  people  in  this  build- 
ing at  one  time,  and  every  one  of  them  was  saved. 

Mrs.  Frank  Nichols,  her  daughter  and  little  Miss  Selkirk 
were  dowm  the  island  at  their  summer  home,  and  Mrs.  Nichols 
tells  of  the  bravery  of  Captain  White  of  the  "  Wasp."  The 
"Wasp"  saved  Captain  Andrews  and  family  of  the  life  saving 


4G0  GALVESTON  STORM  STORIES.. 

station.  The  sails  blew  awa}^  aud  the  boat  capsized  with  all  o  i 
board,  but  the  mast  broke  in  the  water  and  she  righted  herself. 
She  drifted  all  night  and  landed  in  the  bayou  near  the  Nichols 
place  Sunday  morning  with  all  safe. 

The  son  of  Mrs.  Nichols  got  a  horse  in  Galveston  at  2  o'clock 
and  managed  to  get  to  them,  saving  their  lives.  Their  home  was 
wrecked,  but  the  young  man  built  a  rude  shanty  of  the  wreckage 
fon  the  shore  and  they  secured  enough  food  in  the  ruins  of  their 
home  to  give  the  people  on  the  "  Wasp  "  a  Sunday  dinner.  Mr. 
Nichols  was  in  town.  His  home  was  completely  wrecked  and  the 
clothes  were  torn  from  his  back  by  the  wind  and  wreckage.  He 
is  a  little  disfigured,  but  still  able  to  be  about. 

MAN   CARRIED  THIRTY  MILES. 

Mr.  A.  A.  Van  Alstyne  had  a  large  quantity  of  provisions, 
such  as  rice,  canned  goods,  etc.,  stored  with  him.  He  and  his 
family  escaped  unhurt,  and  every  since  have  been  using  their 
house  as  a  basis  of  supplies  for  the  needy  in  their  immediate 
neighborhood. 

Mr.  Henry  R.  Decie,  who  lives  eight  and  one-half  miles  down 
Galveston  island,  was  in  Houston,  and  reports  that  he  was  at  his 
home  when  the  storm  began,  but  took  his  wife  and  children  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  Willie  Raine,  a  close  neighbor.  After  reaching 
there  he  says  the  water,  with  one  bound,  raised  four  or  five  feet 
which  took  the  house  off  the  blocks. 

"  My  wife  and  I  were  sitting  on  the  foot  of  one  of  the  beds 
at  that  time,  which  was  6  o'clock.  We  felt  the  house  quiver,  and 
my  wife  threw  her  arms  around  my  neck  and  kissed  me  and  said, 
*  Good-bye,  we  are  gone.' 

"Just  then  the  house  crushed  in  and.  we  struggled  hard  to  get 
out.  My  baby  boy  was  in  my  arms  a  corpse,  having  been  killed 
by  a  falling  timber.  Another  wave  came  and  swept  the  overhang- 
ing house  off  my  head.  I  looked  around  and  discovered  that  my 
wife  was  gone  and  the  remaining  part  of  the  house  was  drifting 
apart.  Catching  a  piece  of  scantling  I  was  carried  thirty  miles 
across  the  ba}^,  landing  near  the  mouth  of  Cow  bayou." 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

Heroic   Incidents — Arrival  of  Relief  Trains — Hospitals  for 

the    Injured— Loud    Call    for 
Skilled  Labor. 

A  LADY  correspondent  who  went  from  Houston  to  view  the 
wreck  of  Galveston  reported  as  follows  : 

"We  are  only  just  beginning  to  find  out  what  this  awful 
calamity  has  been  to  the  people  in  this  vicinity.  The  first  shock 
is  wearing  off,  the  long  lists  of  dead  and  missing  are  getting  to 
be  an  old  story  now,  and  the  sick  and  suffering  are  crawling  into 
our  places  of  refuge.  Some  of  them  have  been  sleeping  on  the 
open  prairies  ever  since  the  storm,  most  of  them,  in  fact,  men 
with  broken  arms  and  legs,  sick  women  and  ailing  children. 

"  They  crawl  out  of  the  wreck  of  their  homes  and  lie  down 
on  the  bare  ground  to  die.  Our  relief  corps  are  finding  them  and 
bringing  them  in  as  fast  as  they  can.  Dr.  Johnson  and  his  party 
came  in  from  the  Galveston  district  and  reported  that  they  found 
over  5,000  people  and  attended  medically  about  200  patients. 

''  While  we  were  standing  at  the  door  of  the  hospital  talking 
things  over  a  man  rode  up  on  horseback.  He  threw  his  arms  up 
to  attract  our  attention. 

"  '  Is  this  the  relief  hospital  ?  '  he  said. 

"Dr.  Johnson  told  him  that  it  was." 

"  '  Ive  come  in  from  the  Brazos  bottoms,"  he  said.  '  The 
folks  there  are  starving.  There  is  not  a  pound  of  flour  left  and 
the  children  are  crying  for  milk.  There  are  so  many  sick  people 
there  that  we  don't  know  what  to  do.  Can  you  send  some  one 
down  ?' 

"  Dr.  Johnson  had  not  slept  for  twenty-four  hours.  He  had 
not  had  time  to  get  a  full  meal  for  thirty-six  hours.  He  was  worn 
out  and  travel  stained,  but  he  heard  what  the  man  told  him. 

"  '  AH  right,'  he  said.  He  picked  up  his  coat,  put  on  his  hat 
and  turned  to  his  assistants.      '  Come  on,  boys,'  he  said.      '  Let  us 

461 


462  RELIEF  TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS. 

go  down  and  get  the  cars  into  sliape.     We'll  get   down  to  your 
place,  my  man,  jnst  as  fast  as  tlie  Lord  will  let  us.' 

"The  man  on  horseback  leaned  over  his  saddle  and  tried  to 
speak.  Something  in  his  face  frightened  me,  I  called  to  two  doc- 
tors. They  ran  out  and  caught  him.  He  was  in  a  dead  faint. 
When  we  had  brought  him  to  he  laughed  sheepishly.  '  I  don't 
know  what's  the  matter  with  me,'  he  said.  '  Ain't  never  been 
taken  this  wa}^  before.'  The  doctors  looked  at  each  other  and 
smiled,  but  the  nurses'  eyes  were  full  of  tears.  The  man  had 
not  tasted  food  for  thirty-six  hours,  and  he  had  ridden  fifty  miles 
in  the  broiling  sun  of  Texas.  Dr.  Crossway  and  his  men  are 
down  the  island  relieving  the  sick  and  burying  the  dead. 

HOSPITAL    OVERCROWDED. 

"  'Alkali  Ike,'  they  call  Dr.  Crossway,  that  is  because  he  is 
tall  and  rawboned  and  comes  from  Texas  himself  If  a  man  gets 
a  nickname  in  this  part  of  the  world  you  know  that  he  is  loved. 
The  women  and  children  who  came  from  the  district  where 
'  Alkali  Ike '  is  working  know  his  name  and  their  eyes  fill  with 
grateful  tears  at  the  mention  of  it.  The  hospital  at  Galveston  is 
well  named.  The  corps  is  effectively  organized  and  we  hear  from 
there  that  they  are  doing  splendid  work.  Our  own  hospital  here 
in  Houston  is  in  ship-shape  condition. 

"We  have  built  a  partition  or  two,  put  up  temporary  quar- 
ters for  a  dressing  room  for  the  nurses  and  doctors.  The  great 
ice  boxes  are  filled  and  the  range,  which  burned  wood,  has  been 
replaced  with  a  gas  range  to  keep  the  heat  down  as  much  as 
possible. 

"There  is  a  little  railing  just  back  of  the  great  wide  door  of 
the  hospital  where  the  entrance  to  the  theater  used  to  be  and  there 
the  relieving  nurse  sits  with  her  assistants.  The  bookkeeper  has 
her  desk  there  and  the  man  who  answers  inquirers  is  standing 
there. 

"This  is  no  ordinary  hospital  work.  People  come  crowding 
to  the  doors,  and  nearly  all  night  they  come.  Some  of  them  are 
hungry,  some  of  them  are  sick,  some  of  them   are  hunting  for 


RELIEF   TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS.  463 

missing  friends,  and  some  are  merely  ciirions.  Some  are  neigh- 
bors who  come  to  ofifer  help,  some  are  women  bringing  delicacies 
to  offer  to  the  sick.  It  takes  the  entire  time  of  three  persons  to 
attend  to  this  crowd  of  visitors  intelligently. 

"  We  are  keeping  records  of  every  case  entered  at  the  hospital. 
The  name  and  age  and  final  disposition  of  the  case.  These  names 
and  the  facts  concerning  them  are  kept  on  the  books  for  reference, 
so  that  people  are  easily  identified,  and  so  that  any  one  who  has 
contribnted  to  the  fnnd  can  investigate  and  find  ont  just  exactly 
what  became  of  the  money  he  gave.  It  is  hard  to  pick  out  a  case 
in  the  hospital  which  does  not  deserve  special  attention.  A  man 
was  brought  in  with  three  broken  ribs.  They  were  broken  the 
night  of  the  storm,  he  having  been  working  ever  since  burying 
the  dead. 

"  A  3^oungman  was  carried  to  the  hospital  on  a  stretcher  late 
last  night  who  was  wandering  up  and  down  the  island  for  the  past 
three  days  trying  to  find  the  body  of  his  young  wife.  He  found 
and  buried  over  forty  bodies  which  had  been  overlooked  by  the 
burying  committee,  but  he  did  not  find  his  wife.  He  is  lying  out 
at  the  hospital  now  in  a  stupor. 

SUFFERING    UNTOLD    AGONY. 

"  A  boy  of  tw^elve  was  brought  in  who  has  been  suffering 
untold  agony  from  an  injury  to  his  eye  for  four  days.  He  has 
not  had  a  soul  to  help  or  to  speak  to  him,  and  all  he  has  had  to 
eat  in  that  time  was  a  handful  of  crackers.  A  woman  came  in  at 
II  o'clock  last  night.  She  had  a  baby  in  her  arms  and  three 
children  hanging  to  her  skirts.  None  of  them  had  tasted  food  for 
nearly  three  days. 

"  A  young  girl  was  brought  in  by  one  of  the  outside  corps  at 
^9  o'clock  last  night.  The  relief  corps  found  her  huddled  up  in  an 
empty  freight  car,  laughing  and  singing  to  amuse  herself  The 
doctors  say  food  and  care  is  all  she  needs  to  restore  her  to  reason. 
Three-fourths  of  the  people  who  come  in  are  mentally  dull.  The 
physicians  say  with  proper  care  that  most  of  them  can  be  cured." 

One  of  the  many  touching  incidents  of  the  storm  occurred  at 


464  RELIEF   TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS. 

Houston  on  the  iStli.  Mrs.  R.  Qualtrougli  and  Mrs.  Will  Glass 
were  at  the  International  and  Great  Northern  depot  Monday 
intent  on  the  relief  of  any  who  needed,  when  they  saw  a  little 
woman  with  a  baby  of  about  eight  months  in  her  arms.  The 
mother  was  weeping  bitterly,  so  the  two  kindhearted  friends  went 
up  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  The  stranger  said  she  had  just 
arrived  from  New  Orleans  to  find  Galveston  shut  off  from  the 
world,  and  her  husband,  mother  and  sister  were  there,  aud  she 
feared  they  were  all  lost.  Mrs.  Glass  finally  prevailed  over  the 
little  woman  to  go  home  with  her,  where  she  could  care  for  her. 

Tuesday  Mrs.  Qualtrougli  was  busy  at  the  market  house 
helping  to  distribute  the  clothing  and  food  to  the  sufferers,  when 
her  son  came  to  her  and  told  her  there  was  a  man  from  Galveston 
in  the  room,  and  he  wished  she  would  go  to  him.  The  man,  who 
wsiS  bruised  and  beaten  in  his  fight  with  waves,  was  in  great  dis- 
tress. He  wanted  to  get  to  New  Orleans,  but  had  no  money,  his 
wife  and  child  were  there,  and  he  had  to  tell  her  that  her  mother 
and  sisters  were  drowned. 

WOMAN    DRIFTED    NEARLY    THREE    DAYS. 

An  instinct  told  Mrs.  Qualtrougli  the  truth.  She  asked  what 
was  the  size  and  complexion  of  his  wife,  and  how  old  was  the 
baby.  Looking  at  her  strangely,  the  man  described  exactl}^  the 
woman  and  child  found  at  the  International  and  Great  Northern 
station.  "  I  believe  your  wife  is  here,"  was  the  extraordinary 
comment  on  his  story.  Calling  to  Mrs.  Ward,  the  fish  merchant, 
Mrs.  Qualtrough  asked  her  to  take  the  man  to  Mhrs.  Glass'  home, 
and  the  husband  and  wife  met.  It  was  a  pitiful  scene,  for  while 
she  had  got  her  husband  back,  the  poor  woman  learned  of  the  loss 
of  mother  and  sisters. 

A  woman  was  brought  into  Houston  who  was  two  days  and  a 
night  drifting  about  in  Galveston  bay,  bringing  with  her  a  par- 
rot which  she  had  held  above  the  waters  all  that  time.  The  par- 
rot and  a  bag  of  money  was  all  she  had  left. 

Mr.  A.  C.  Fonda,  a  patient  at  the  Houston  infirmary,  was  a 
clerk  in  the  Gulf,  Colorado  and  Santa  Fe  freight  of&ce  at   Galves- 


RELIEF  TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS.  4Q^ 

ton,  and  lived  on  Broadway.  He  tells  a  tale  of  his  experience 
whicli  is  miraculous.  He  remained  in  his  house  until  it  was 
blown  down,  and  then,  in  some  miraculous  manner,  he  M^as  blown 
into  a  large  cypress  cistern  which  was  about  half  full  of  water. 
After  being  in  the  cistern  for  about  an  hour  a  kind  of  twister 
struck  it  and  blew  all  the  water  out,  but  left  him.  When  the 
cistern  was  relieved  of  the  water  it  rose  and  was  finally  washed 
out  on  the  Gulf,  where  it  remained  until  Monday  morning,  when 
the  wind  and  tide  brought  it  back  to  Galveston  and  its  occupant 
was  rescued  in  a  thorouo^hlj^  exhausted  condition. 

Beaumont,  Texas,  September  14. — Mr.  A.  Zwirn,  one  of  the 
Beaumonters  who  left  for  Galveston  on  a  freight  train  Monday 
afternoon,  returned  yesterday  after  having  spent  fourteen  hours 
in  the  stricken  city.  Mr.  Zwirn  reached  Galveston  Tuesday 
evening,  having  succeeded  in  getting  across  the  bay  on  a  small 
sailboat.  He  went  to  the  Island  City  to  search  for  friends  and 
found  a  greater  portion  of  them  alive. 

FIRST    CITY    TO    GIVE   ASSISTANCE. 

Mr.  Zwirn  says  Beaumont  was  the  first  city  to  get  assistance 
into  Galveston.  He  was  present  at  a  meeting  of  Galveston  citi- 
zens when  it  was  announced  that  a  boat  with  ice  and  water  from 
Beaumont  had  arrived,  and  he  says  the  fervent  thanks  which 
went  up  from  the  gathering  and  the  tribute  one  of  the  men 
paid  to  the  Queen  of  the  Neches  made  him  feel  proud  of  his 
residence  here. 

"It  was,  however,  not  the  fault  of  Houston,"  said  Mr.  Zvvirn, 
"that  the  Bayou  City  did  not  get  supplies  to  the  Island  City 
quicker.  The  train  on  which  I  came  to  the  end  of  the  railroad 
track  had  several  cars  of  provisions,  ice,  etc.,  and  many  more  were 
standing  on  the  tracks  when  we  arrived.  The  trouble  was  the 
absence  of  transportation  across  the  bay  to  Galveston.  There  were 
many  boats,  but  the  owners  found  it  more  profitable  to  carry  pas- 
sengers from  $1  per  head  up  than  to  transport  supplies.  I  can 
not  describe  the  joy  with  which  the  boat  from  Beaumont  was 
received.     It  not  only  contained  that  which  the   sufferers  needed 

30 


466  RELIEF  TRAINS   AND  HOSPrFALS. 

badly,  but  it  was  evidence  that  tbere  was  commuuication  witb  tbe 
outside  world,  and  revived  the  spirits  of  many  who  had  become 
Respondent." 

Under  the  rules  and  regulations  prescribed  by  the  military 
laws  governing-  the  city,  the  work  of  clearing  the  streets,  disposing 
of  the  dead  and  cleaning  the  city  in  general  have  progressed 
very  favorably.  The  plans  mapped  out  by  the  military  depart- 
ment brought  the  operations  down  to  a  system.  Where  there  is 
order  and  system  much  can  be  accomplished,  and  this  was  most 
clearl}^  demonstrated  by  the  reports  of  one  day's  labors  in  this  field. 
Nearly  three  thousand  men  were  organized  in  gangs  and  squads 
of  from  ten  to  twenty-five,  working  under  the  direction  of  foremen, 
supervised  by  ward  superintendents,  started  out  early  in  the  morn- 
ing and  worked  faithfully  until  dark.  The  detailed  results  of 
their  labors  were  not  to  be  had,  but  enough  was  shown  by  the 
repoits  to  demonstrate  the  value  of  organization. 

THE    ARMY    OF    WORKERS. 

All  foremen  were  ordered  to  report  daily  at  military  head- 
quarters, where  a  large  force  of  clerks  were  kept  busy  chronicling 
the  amount  of  debris  removed,  the  number  of  dead  bodies  disposed 
of,  etc.  Another  force  under  command  of  Adjutant-General 
McCaleb  was  kept  busy  printing  orders  issued  for  the  guidance 
of  the  work,  laws  governing  the  protection  of  property  and  the 
lives  of  citizens,  etc. 

The  militia  was  placed  on  guard  duty  in  all  parts  of  the  city 
and  the  city  police  and  sheriff's  department  are  co-operating  with 
the  military  authorities,  which  is  supreme  in  control  of  the  city. 

While  the  power  is  invested  in  the  military  authorities,  Brig- 
adier-General Scurry,  commanding,  Adjutant-General  Hunt  Mc- 
Caleb directs  that  men  may  be  impressed  into  service  in  cleaning 
the  streets  and  performing  other  labors  incumbent  upon  the 
department,  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  very  few  men  had  to  be 
impressed  into  service.  Some  few  held  back  under  one  pretense 
and  another,  but  when  given  to  understand  that  they  would  be 
compelled  to  work  they  invariably  joined  the  army  of  laborers. 


RELIEF  TRAINS  AND  HOSPITALS.  467 

The  beacli  and  tlie  western  part  of  tlie  city  presented  the 
picture  of  about  one  hundred  or  more  pyres  where  human  bodies 
and  the  carcasses  of  dead  animals  were  disposed  of  by  fire.  Sepa- 
rate pyres  were  designated  for  human  bodies  and  animal  carcasses 
and  the  work  progressed  rapidly.  The  gruesome  task  was 
heartrending  and  many  able-bodied  men  succumbed  to  the 
terrible  ordeal.  The  bodies  recovered  yesterday  and  those  still 
buried  beneath  the  debris  are  in  an  advanced  state  of  decomposi- 
tion and  utterly  beyond  recognition  or  identification  unless  by  the 
clothing  or  some  ornament  worn  by  the  dead.  Ninety-five  per 
cent,  of  the  bodies  recovered  are  naked. 

The  hurricane,  aided  materially  by  the  action  of  the  raging 
torrents,  invariably  stripped  the  victims  of  all  vestige  of  clothing 
or  other  articles  that  might  lead  to  identification.  Another 
remarkable  fact,  whi-ch  shows  the  force  of  the  storm  in  packing 
the  wreckage  and  debris  in  high  mounds,  is  seen  in  the  amount 
of  water  held  by  the  wreckage. 

MILES    OF   WRECKAGE. 

Six  days  of  sunshine  and  seven  nights  of  cool  Gulf  breezes 
have  failed  to  draw  the  water  held  by  the  wreckage  which,  jammed 
into  water-tight  ridges,  formed  tanks  to  hold  the  salt  water  which 
inundated  the  city.  While  the  ground  all  around  these  ridges  is 
dry  and  hard,  the  removal  of  the  top  ridge  disclosed  several  feet 
of  water.  At  least  20  per  cent,  of  the  bodies  recovered  yesterday 
from  the  wreckage  were  taken  out  of  water. 

A  reporter  who  attempted  to  make  a  circuit  of  the  rescuing 
parties  working  on  the  beach  and  throughout  the  western  part  of 
the  city,  noted  the  finding  of  123  and  the  discovery  of  at  least 
twenty  more  bodies,  which  were  so  hemmed  in  by  wreckage  that 
it  was  impossible  to  get  them  out.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate 
the  number  of  dead  buried  beneath  the  miles  of  wreckage. 

When  the  forces  started  out  yesterday  morning  it  was  thought 
by  many  that  the  greater  number  of  dead  had  been  removed  from 
the  prisons  built  by  the  storm.  The  work  had  not  progressed  far 
before  the  workmen  began  to   dig  into  ruins  where  bodies   were 


468  RELIEF   TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS. 

found.  During  the  hasty  toui  of  the  reporter  he  witnessed  inc 
finding  of  ten  bodies  between  Tremont  and  Thirty-first  streets 
along  the  ridge  of  wreckage  which  marks  the  path  of  the  storm 
from  the  east  to  the  west  on  the  beach  and  extending  inland  from 
three  to  seven  blocks. 

The  most  important  journal  in  Texas,  the  "Galveston 
News,"  commented  as  follows  : 

"  The  '  News '  desires  to  repeat  what  it  has  already  said  to 
its  now  unhappj^  people  on  Galveston  Island.  The  sorrows  of 
the  past  few  days  are  overwhelming,  and  we  all  feel  them  and' 
will  continue  to  feel  them  so  long  as  we  live.  It  could  not  be 
expected  that  our  friends  and  relatives  and  loved  ones  should  be 
so  suddenly  torn  from  us  without  leaving  scars  from  which  those 
in  the  ranks  of  maturity  can  never  recover. 

FORTITUDE    OF    SURVIVORS. 

"  But  it  is  all  in  the  past  now.  We  cannot  recall  our  dead 
thousands.  Wherever  they  sleep,  beneath  the  tireless  waves  or 
under  the  arching  skies,  we  will  love  their  memories  and  recall 
as  long  as  we  live  the  unspeakable  and  mysterious  tragedy  which 
destroyed  them.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  we  have  more 
than  30,000  living,  and  many  of  these  are  children  too  young  to 
have  their  lives  and  energies  paralyzed  by  the  disaster  which  has 
overtaken  us. 

"  Our  homes  must  be  rebuilt,  our  schools  repaired,  and  the 
natural  advantages  of  the  port  must  sooner  or  later  receive  our 
earnest  attention.  We  have  loved  Galveston  too  long  and  too 
well  to  desert  her  in  the  hour  of  misfortune.  Our  distress  and 
destitution  are  going  to  be  relieved,  for  a  sympathizing  countr}^ 
is  already  providing  for  temporary  needs.  This  people  are  too 
proud  and  self-reliant,  however,  to  lose  spirit  and  fail  of  duty. 
In  the  very  darkness  of  the  moment  there  is  light  ahead,  and  we 
must  look  to  the  light  ahead.  Even  in  the  midst  of  our  dead  and 
.our  ruins  light  appears. 

"The  railroads  are  bending  every  effort  to  repair  the  bridges 
and  place  us  once  more   in   commercial  communication  with   the 


(    > 


RELIEF   TRAINS  AND  HOSPITALS.  469 

mainland  ;  fhe  telegraph  companies,  pulting  tlieir  lieavy  losses 
behind  them,  are  restoring  their  wires  as  fast  as  men  can  do  it ; 
the  telephone  company  is  doing  likewise,  and  the  wharf  com- 
panies are  similarly  engaged.  As  the  'News'  understands  it, 
the  Sonthern  Pacific  Company  proposes  to  double  its  force  to 
mplete  the  improvement  which  was  so  damaged  by  the  storm. 
The  waterworks  will  soon  be  restored,  the  street  railway 
repaired,  and  all  the  other  elements  of  a  metropolitan  life  placed 
in  working  order.  The  ships  will  come  into  the  harbor  for  traf&c 
and  get  it,  and  that  traffic  will  afford  employment  to  thousands. 
If  the  people  will  take  heart,  they  will  soon  find  that  all  has  not 
been  lost,  and,  moreover,  much  is  to  be  saved.  If  we  lost  5000 
people,  there  are  more  than  30,000  to  be  provided  for  ;  if  wx  have 
lost  $15,000,000  in  property,  we  still  have  that  much  to  save  and 
restore. 

REBUILDING    GALVESTON. 

''There  is  much  to  hope  for  and  to  strive  for,  and  we  must 
hope  and  strive  to  save  ourselves  and  meet  the  expectations  of 
the  world.  The  'News'  received  a  telegram  last  night  from  a 
great  New  York  paper  inquiring  if  Galveston  would  rebuild. 
The  answer  was  sent  back  that  Galveston  did  not  intend  to  suc- 
cumb to  her  crushing  misfortune,  but  would  again  resume  hef 
place  as  the  great  port  of  the  Gulf  This  is  the  duty  of  the 
people  here,  and  the  'News'  expects  in  good  time  to  see  all  the 
energies  of  the  people  concentrated  upon  the  great  work  of  recu- 
peration and  restoration.  Will  this  expectation  meet  disappoint- 
ment? Knowing  this  people  for  nearly  sixty  years,  the  'News' 
answers,  No." 

Colonel  John  D.  Rogers  was  at  Toronto,  Out.,  when  the  big 
storm  swept  Galveston.  He  and  Colonel  D.  C.  Giddings,  of 
Brenham,  have  gone  North  together  for  a  vacation  every  summer 
for  several  years  past,  and  this  year  they  picked  Toronto  as  the 
place  of  recreation.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  storm  reached 
them  they  started  for  Texas,  and  Colonel  Rogers  arrived  on 
Frida}',  the  14th. 


470  RELIEF   TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS. 

To  a  gentleman  \vh6  called  on  him  and  asked  for  an  expres- 
sion of  his  views  as  to  the  futnre,  -^ud  his  intentions  as  to  the 
various  properties  he  is  interested  in,  Colonel  Rogers  talked  most 
hopefully  and  confidently  : 

''So  far  as  property  losses  are  concerned,"  said  he,  "I  suspect 
I  have  lost  about  as  heavily  as  any  men  in  Galveston  in  propor- 
tion to  the  propert}'  I  own  here.  But  this  constitutes  no  reason 
why  I  should  be  discouraged.  I  felt  that  way  even  before  I 
reached  Galveston.  Colonel  Giddings,  from  the  newspaper 
accounts  of  the  storm,  doubted  somewhat  that  Galveston  would 
come  again.  But  I  told  him  Galveston  was  bound  to  be  restored. 
I  told  him  I  didn't  believe  the  wharves  were  gone  ;  no  man  who 
knows  anything  of  the  construction  of  wharves  could  have 
believed  that  story.  I  told  him  tha^  /ne  maintenance  of  Galveston 
as  a  port  for  the  west  was  imperatively  necessary,  and  that  if  the 
people  of  Galveston  laid  down  and  got  off  the  island,  other  people 
would  come  here  and  build  up  a  city. 

RESUMING    BUSINESS. 

"A  week  in  Galveston  has  made  me  still  more  confident  that 
I  was  right  in  my  conclusion.  The  work  done  during  the  past 
week  has  been  wonderful,  and  within  another  week,  I  believe, 
every  kind  of  business  will  be  going  on  as  before.  We  are  again 
ready  to  receive  cotton,  and  I  have  instructed  our  shippers  to 
send  it  in.  Before  this  business  season  is  over  we  will  be  doing 
as  much  business  as  ever  before,  and  before  twelve  months  have 
passed  our  buildings  will  be  restored. 

"I  know  that  croakers  will  say  that  this  cannot  be  done,  but 
the  croaker  will  never  rise  in  any  country.  I  don't  believe  in 
croakers.  I  believe  with  "The  News,"  that  this  storm  has  indis- 
putably proven  that  the  island  will  not  wash  away.  If  that 
storm,  the  severest  in  the  history  of  the  world,  did  not  wash  the 
island  away,  nothing  ever  will  eliminate  it  from  the  map.  And! 
it  is  not  conceivable  that  another  storm  of  that  severity  will  erer 
strike  again  in  this  spot.  The  flood  of  the  Brazos  river,  in  last 
July,  was  unprecedented. 


RELIEF   TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS.  471 

"Tliere  liad  never  been  snch  a  flood  before,  and  there  bad 
never  been  an  overflow  of  that  river  in  the  month  of  July  in  all 
the  histor}^  of  the  State.  Again,  the  previous  rises  of  the  river 
had  been  gradual,  but  in  July,  1899,  the  river  rose  two  and  a  half 
feet  in  one  night.  All  of  that  was  very  unusual,  and  it  is 
improbable  that  it  will  ever  be  repeated.  The  storm  at  Galveston 
was  likewise  very  unusual.  The  waters  came  from  the  bay  and 
Gulf  simultaneously,  and  met  on  the  island.  They  did  not  go 
up  Buffalo  bayou,  as  they  did  in  1875,  when  lives  were  lost  at 
Lynchburg. 

"A  great  deal  of  the  loss  of  life  has  been  due  to  flimsiness  of 
many  houses  put  up  here  in  recent  years  for  rent.  The  lesson 
which  Galveston  has  received  is  a  terrible  one,  but  it  will  lead  to 
safer  and  better  buildings.  It  is  true  that  some  good  buildings 
were  wrecked  by  the  jamming  of  wreckage  from  flimsy  buildings, 
but  the  fact  that  we  have  many  buildings  standing  unharmed, 
proves  that  we  can  build  enduring  structures. 

GREAT    DETERMINATION. 

''I  have  given  my  attention  since  coming  home  to  the  resto- 
ration of  the  Gulf  City  compress  and  other  property  in  which  I 
am  interested.  We  are  going  right  ahead,  with  greater  deter- 
mination, to  increase  our  business  and  to  build  up  the  city." 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you  alive  "  is  the  greeting  with  which  a 
Galvestonian  now  meets  his  fellow-citizen  on  the  rubbish  blocked 
streets  of  the  once  proud  city  by  the  Texas  coast.  Those  who 
have  not  been  here  can  not  realize  what  it  is  to  a  man  to  meet  a 
friend  alive,  or  to  find  a  relative  who  since  Saturday  has  been 
missing  from  the  huddled  few  remaining  who  are  gathered  in 
some  desolated,  wrecked  and  wind  torn  building,  which  but  a  week 
ago  was  a  happy  home  of  happ}^  people. 

When  a  drama  has  finished,  the  curtain  falls,  and  as  the 
orchestra  plays  some  popular  air  the  audience  makes  its  way  to 
the  street,  talking  for  a  few  moments  of  the  characters  and  the 
scenes,  but  shutting  out  from  mind,  with  the  falling  of  the  curtain, 
the  happiness  and  the  pain  w^liich  was  depicted    b}-    moving  char- 


472  RELIEF  TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS. 

acters  wiio  but  represented  a  story  of  man's  imaginative  mind. 
Not  so  with  this. 

No  curtain  can  be  drawn  and  the  stage  remains  ever  before 
them.  They  have  it  now  as  a  desolate  picture  to  gaze  upon,  and 
they  will  have  it  forever,  wander  where  they  will  upon  this  earth's 
surface.  No  curtain  can  force  it  from  the  mind,  and  no  effort  can 
efface  it  from  the  tablets  of  memory.  Many  of  the  actors  in  this 
'great  drama  are  not  here.  Some  of  them  yet  remain,  and  their 
stories  are  stranger  than  fiction  which  Jules  Verne  or  Dumas  have 
written. 

Amid  the  smoke  of  battle,  when  men  meet  men  in  armed  con- 
flict, and  thousands  fall  beneath  the  leaden  hail,  there  is  time 
taken  to  make  a  trench  and  consign  to  a  resting  place  the  bodies 
of  the  fallen  thousands,  and  the  chaplain  has  his  moment  to  ask 
a  merciful  God  to  receive  His  own.  Not  so  with  this.  No  trench 
can  be  made  for  those  people  who  have  been  found  where  the  angry 
waters  threw  them  up,  where  the  falling  timbers  caught  them,  or 
where  they  are  floating  on  the  waters  of  a  waved  lashed  shore. 

QUICK    WORK    NEEDED. 

They  are  disposed  of,  not  as  humanity  would  direct,  or  as 
sentiment  dictates,  but  as  necessity  demands,  and  it  is  not  with 
the  accompaniment  of  a  clergyman's  prayer,  or  the  simple  words 
of  the  man  of  the  cloth,  that  "God  has  given  and  God  has  taken 
away,  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord ;  earth  to  earth,  dust  to 
dust  and  ashes  to  ashes."  Bodies  have  been  consigned  to  that 
element  which  destroyed  the  vitality  of  the  material — the  water 
and  the  waves  which  came  from  the  storm  tossed  Gulf  of  Mexico 
to  invade  the  portion  of  land  which  nature  set  aside  for  the  habi- 
tation of  man. 

This  could  not  be  continued  for  long.  The  conception  of 
man's  mind,  which  first  suggested  this  disposition,  proved  to  be 
wise  judgment  in  the  first  emergency,  but  nature's  laws  prevented 
a  continuance  of  the  plan,  and  it  became  necessary  to  turn  to  a 
quicker  and  more  convenient  method,  as  the  decomposition  which 
fast  began  a  destruction  of  the  mortal,  rendered  handling  impos 


RELIEF   TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS.  47 


o 


sible.  Cremation  was  then  resorted  to,  and  without  the  facilities 
of  science  to  assist,  the  destruction  of  the  remains  was  affected 
by  using  burning  debris,  upon  the  places  where  the  corpses  were 
found. 

Humanity  may  think  this  is  terrible  and  sentiment  may 
revolt  at  this  story,  but  that  humanity  and  that  sentiment  is  not 
to  be  found  in  Galveston.  Here  the  people  have  thrown  aside 
custom  and  formalities,  all  men  are  equal  and  that  equality 
extends  throughout  the  whole  city.  No  custom  of  dress,  no 
formality  of  appearance  and  no  false  modesty  enters  into  one's 
mind.  Men  and  women  cover  their  nakedness  with  what  they 
can  procure  from  neighbors,  from  friends  or  from  the  relief  com- 
mittee or  what  perchance  was  saved  from  the  wreckage  of  their 
own  homes,  and  they  proceed  with  the  work  of  looking  after  their 
own,  their  friends  and  their  neighbors,  as  necessity  demaiids 
All  people  are  neighbors  here  and  all  have  a  common  interest. 

NEW    CHART    OF    BAY    NEEDED. 

A  phenomenal  thing  has  occurred  in  the  bay.  There  dre 
now  bars  there  which  have  never  before  been  seen.  They  are 
across  from  the  Twenty-fifth  street  wharf  and  from  the 
Twentieth  street  wharf  There  may  be  others,  hn>  these 
two  long  ridges  of  sand  have  been  noticed  by  the  observ- 
ing men  who  know  the  bay  front  as  well  as  they  knov  any- 
thing, and  it  is  possible  that  when  the  water  is  sounded  quite  a 
number  of  these  will  be  found  in  various  places.  It  may  require 
a  new  chart  of  the  bay  to  determine  the  damage,  and  until  this  is 
done  the  greatest  care  must  be  exercised  in  moving  about  the 
harbor. 

Those  who  live  away  from  here  will  have  an  idea  of  the 
wreckage  when  it  is  stated  that  within  an  area  bounded  by  Thir- 
teenth street  on  the  west,  the  end  of  the  island  on  the  east,  the 
Gulf  on  the  south  and  Broadway  on  the  north,  there  is  not  a 
standing  house.  Between  Broadway  and  Postoffice  street  and 
between  Thirteenth  street  and  the  end  of  the  island  there  is  not 
a  house  standing.     In  the   territory  south   of  avenue  K  and  east 


474  RELIEF   TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS. 

Tremoiit  street  all  the  way  to  the  Denver  resurvey  there  is  not  a 
house  standing.  There  are  other  portions  of  the  city  which  are 
in  a  similar  condition,  but  it  is  impossible  to  tell  them  now. 

The  Sealy  hospital  was  first  reported  as  having  been  blown 
away,  but  it  survived  the  storm  in  a  most  remarkable  manner, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  it  is  situated  where  the  raging- 
waters  were  the  highest.  With  the  exception  of  broken  window 
panes,  a  damaged  ceiling  and  a  good  drenching  of  a  number  of" 
the  rooms,  with  their  contents,  it  is  virtually  unharmed.  The 
nurses'  home,  which  stood  opposite  the  infirmary  and  was  used  in 
conjunction  with  it,  was  completely  demolished,  but  with  no  loss 
of  life. 

There  was  no  loss  of  life  among  the  regular  inmates  of  the 
hospitals.  A  number  died  during  the  storm,  but  they  had  been 
brought  in  in  a  dying  condition. 

CLOTHED    ONE    THOUSAND. 

One  thing  developed  by  the  storm  that  has  not  been  com- 
mented upon  is  the  manner  in  which  the  so-called  "  society  men  " 
have  taken  hold  of  things.  They  have  worked  like  Trojans,  every 
one  of  them,  and  have  proven  that  the  wearing  of  good  and  fash- 
ionably cut  garments  is  no  evidence  of  lack  of  manhood.  Some 
of  the  first  to  go  out  in  charge  of  gangs  of  men  clearing  away  the 
debris  and  burying  the  bodies  were  the  3^oung  fellows  one  meets 
at  cotillions  and  fashionable  functions.  To-day  their  fair  skins 
are  cracked  and  burned  with  sun  and  wind,  their  hands  blistered 
and  burned,  and  their  clothes  covered  with  mud  and  slime.  They 
glory  in  their  j^oung  manhood,  and  are  not  one  bit  ashamed  to  go 
about  with  their  colarless  negligee  shirt  open  at  the  neck,  or  their 
sleeves  rolled  up.  Some  of  them  have  not  shaved  since  the  storm, 
and  look  more  like  subjects  for  charity  than  many  who  apply  for 
relief 

One  young  man,  who  probably  clothed  one  thousand  people 
in  two  days,  is  going  around  in  a  very  much  soiled,  borrowed  shirt. 
His  home  was  destro3^ed,  and  all  the  clothes  he  saved  he  had  on 
his  back  at  the  time.     He  has  not  had  time  to  buy  new  clothing, 


RELIEF   TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS.  475 

althougli  lie  lias  probably  clotlied  oue  thousand  people.  He  would 
as  soon  liave  stolen  as  to  have  taken  one  of  the  nice  clean  shirts 
he  was  giving  away.      Besides,  it  never  occurred  to  him. 

Mr.  J.  Martin,  one  of  the  refugees  at  Houston,  who  passed 
through  the  storm  at  Galveston  all  right,  save  a  gash  in  the  head, 
a  black  eye,  a  mashed  nose,  and  a  sprained  arm  and  leg,  says 
that  on  the  night  of  the  storm  he  sought  shelttr  in  six  differenj: 
houses.  As  the  last  of  these  houses  in  turn  succumbed  to  the 
force  of  the  hurricane,  Mr.  Martin  was  plunged  into  the  dark  and 
angry  waters,  amid  its  splintering  ruins.  Numerous  times,  he  said, 
falling  timbers  would  knock  him  unconscious  for  a  few  moments, 
and  after  regaining  his  senses  he  would  be  so  full  of  water,  so 
exhausted  and  weak  from  his  desperate  exertions  and  loss  of 
blood,  that  he  felt  like  giving  up  all  hope  and  allowing  the  water 
to  draw  him  under  and  relieve  him  of  his  sufferings. 

FOR   A    MOTHER'S    LOVE. 

He  says  he  saw  other  men  who  were  physically  stronger 
than  he  do  that  very  thing.  Still  he  would  not  give  up  and  he 
struggled  on.  He  had  no  wife  or  child  to  live  for — there  was  just 
one  person  in  the  world  whom  he  fondly  loved,  and  that  was  his 
mother.  Ever}^  time,  he  says,  that  he  decided  to  let  himself  go 
down  beneath  the  water  and  drown  his  mother's  face  would  appear 
before  his  vision.  Clearly  and  distinctly  he  could  see  the  look  of 
reproach  in  her  eyes  at  his  threatened  weakness,  and  each  time 
this  vision  would  spur  him  to  greater  effort,  and  he  would  battle 
on  until  he  reached  another  place  of  safety. 

Finall}^,  when  the  storm  had  spent  its  fury  and  he  crawled 
into  a  place  of  safety,  he  drifted  into  unconsciousness  and  remained 
in  that  condition  until  late  Sunday  evening.  Mr.  Martin  says 
that  his  mother  lives  in  New  York  and  he  knew  she  was  safe,  but 
says  had  it  not  been  for  the  image  of  her  face  which  constantly 
appeared  before  him  he  certainly  would  never  have  lived  to  tell 
his  experience. 

There  are  no  better  hearted  people  in  the  world  than  the 
Americans.       Not    a   case    of  genuine    suffering    or  honest    and 


476  RELIEF   TRAINS   AND  HOSPITALS. 

unavoidable  misfortune  need  ever  go  long  without  generous 
assistance  in  any  part  of  the  United  States,  if  only  the  people  know 
that  it  is  a  proper  case  for  their  sympathy.  And  this  is  true 
whether  the  misfortune  be  an   individual   and  private  or  a  public 

calamity. 

The  papers  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  without  exception, 
called  the  attention  of  their  readers  to  the  destructiveness  of  the 
hurricane  in  Texas,  expressed  their  profound  sympathy  with  the 
sufferers  and  urged  instant  relief  measures.  There  never  was  a 
more  general  manifestation  of  popular  solicitude,  or  a  readier  or 
more  widespread  response  to  an  appeal  for  assistance. 

And  yet  this  is  the  American  rule  in  such  cases.  The 
humblest  and  the  highest  give  and  give  quickly.  Nothing  is  too 
good  for  the  unfortunate  when  it  is  known  that  their  misfortune 
could  not  be  warded  off  and  that  they  are  left  utterly  helpless. 

It  makes  us  love  our  country  better  when  we  find  it  has  such 
a  people  within  its  borders.  We  regain  the  confidence  in  mankind 
which  may  have  been  shattered  in  sordid  every  day  business.  We 
feel  that  down  in  the  heart,  the  good  impulses  remain,  and  that 
only  something  a  little  out  of  the  ordinary  is  necessary  to  reveal 
(to  slightly  paraphrase  Goldsmith)  that 

To  relieve  the  wretched  is  our  pride, 
And  e'en  our  failings  lead  to  virtue's  side. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

One  Hero  Rescues  Over  Two  Hundred — Traveler  Caught 

in  the  Rush  of  Water — Report    of    a    Government 

Official— How  the  Great    Storm    Started. 

'T^HERE  are  many  people  wlio  are  composed  of  the  material 
A  that  constitutes  a  hero,  but  the  majority  pass  through  the 
time  allotted  to  them  on  earth  without  having  the  opportunity  of 
demonstrating  the  fact  to  the  world.  On  the  night  that  the  awful 
catastrophe  visited  the  city  of  Galveston  few  were  those  who  had 
not  this  opportunity  present'^d  to  them. 

Of  course  there  were  some  who  failed  to  develop  this  c|uality. 
The  every  effort  of  these  was  directed  with  the  one  supreme 
purpose  of  self  preservation.  Others  there  were  who  devoted 
their  services  unreservedly  to  the  helpless  and  in  consequence 
their  names  will  never  be  forgotten  by  those  whom  they  preserved 
from  a  watery  grave. 

Seme  of  the  deeds  of  this  nobler  class  will  never  be  known — 
not  even  after  the  relentless  sea  gives  up  all  its  dead.  There  is 
one  name,  however,  which  will  be  recorded  and  preserved  in  the 
memory  of  some  as  long  as  that  never  to  be  forgotten  night  of 
the  hurricane  at  Galveston  is  remembered  by  the  sons  of  men. 
That  name  will  be  taught  by  mothers  to  their  children  in  the  age 
to  come  as  thenar  "  of  one  possessed  of  undying  courage  and 
heroism. 

The  name  is  tnat  of  2achery  Scott,  a  young  medical  student 
who  was  at  St.  Mary's  Infirmary  at  Galveston  on  the  fateful  night. 
Alone  and  single-handed  Mr.  Scott  rescued  over  200  souls  from 
the  very  jaws  of  death.  St.  Mary's  Infirmary  is  composed  of  a 
large  brick  building  and  several  wooden  structures,  and  the  latter 
were  entirely  destroyed  by  the  fury  of  the  wind  and  the  water.  In 
the  wooden  buildings  were  nearly  200  patients  who  were  too  sick 

and  weak  to  battle  against  the    elements  and  the  raging  storm, 

477 


478  SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JAWS   OF   DEATH. 

besides  a  score  of  the    sisters   wlio    were   at  the  time   acting  as 
nurses. 

When  the  water  began  to  rise,  Mr.  Scott,  who  was  in  the 
brick  building,  went  over  to  where  these  patients  were  quartered 
and  soon  returned,  through  water  waist  deep,  with  one  in  his 
arms.  Over  200  times  he  performed  this  feat,  although  before 
the  task  was  completed  the  water  between  the  two  buildings  was 
over  six  feet  in  depth. 

Back  and  forth,  during  all  the  stormy  night,  he  went  and 
every  time  he  returned  another  soul  was  saved  from  a  dreadful 
fate.  When  the  storm  was  at  its  height,  the  debris  was  flying  in 
all  directions,  the  resistless  waters  carrying  people  on  to  destruc- 
tion and  when  he  was  weak  and  weary  from  his  exertions,  the 
inmates  of  the  brick  building  begged  him  not  to  attempt  the  feat 
again.  But  still,  with  a  dauntless  courage  born  of  devotion,  he 
never  faltered  in  his  duty,  and  every  person  in  the  doomed  build- 
ing was  taken  to  a  place  of  safety.  Such  courage,  devotion  and 
heroism  deserves  a  place  side  by  side  with  that  of  the  greatest 
heroes  who  ever  lived. 

A   MARVELLOUS    ESCAPE. 

Harry  Van  Baton,  a  well  known  traveling  salesman  for  Teni- 
son  Bros.,  Dallas,  was  in  the  midst  of  the  disaster,  but  saved  his 
life  in  a  marvellous  manner. 

"  It  was  the  worst  trial  of  my  life,"  he  said  with  a  shudder. 
"  I  shall  never  forget  its  horrors.  I  arrived  in  Galveston  Satur- 
day morning  and  immediately  went  to  the  beach  with  a  party  of 
us  and  for  a  while  had  a  good  time  in  bathing.  Bat  the  waves  soon 
became  furious  and  we  were  notified  by  the  lif^  saving  crew  '  to 
get  out  of  the  water  as  there  was  danger  coming.' 

"  Luckily  we  obeyed  their  command,  for  when  we  had  dressed, 
the  waves  were  enormous.  We  had  to  wade  waist  deep  in  water 
before  we  reached  the  Tremont  Hotel.  The  wind  kept  increasing 
and  at  this  stage  of  the  game  I  began  to  realize  something  awful 
was  going  to  happen. 

"  At  eight  o'clock  that  night  the  wind  must  have  been  going 


SNATCHED   FROM   THE  JAWS   OF   DEATH.  479 

a  hundred  mile  an  hour  gait  and  it  was  about  this  time  that  the 
roof  of  the  hotel  gave  away  and  the  sky-light  fell  in  on  the  thou- 
sand or  more  people  who  were  there.  I  walked  through  three  or 
four  feet  of  water  to  reach  the  front  door. 

"  There  was  a  regular  mill-race  rushing  past  the  door  and  I 
v-as  caught  in  it,  but  by  God's  help  and  by  expert  swimming  I 
managed  to  reach  the  mainland. 

"  It  was  a  terrible  experience  ;  whirling  by  me  were  hundreds 
of  bodies,  more  than  I  dared  to  count,  crushed  and  mangled 
between  timbers  and  debris.  Men,  women  and  children  sinking, 
floating  and  dashing  on,  many  to  an  instant  death.  I  also  passed 
many  dead  horses  and  cattle.  How  it  all  ended,  that  I  reached 
safety,  I  hardly  know  ;  but  I  kept  my  presence  of  mind  and  by 
God's  help  was  saved." 

PERILS   OF   A   RELIEF   TRAIN. 

One  of  the  passengers  on  the  first  relief  train  that  went  out 
of  Houston  on  Saturday  evenings  during  the  prevalence  of*  the 
storm,  to  bring  the  people  in  from  La  Porte  and  Seabrook,  gives 
the  following  description  of  the  trip  : 

"Little  did  we  know  what  trials  were  before  us  as  we  started 
out  for  La  Porte  and  Seabrook  at  8  o'clock  on  that  fatal  Saturday 
night.  But  we  did  know  our  loved  ones  were  in  danger,  and  with 
a  brave  volunteer  crew  in  charge  of  the  train,  and  trusting  to  the 
good  God  above  to  care  for  us,  we  started,  hoping  for  the  best. 

"The  first  obstacle  that  impeded  our  progress  was  a  pine 
tree  of  about  two  feet  in  diameter  across  the  track.  This  was 
soon  cut  in  two  and  we  journeyed  along,  the  wind  almost  blowing 
the  train  off  the  track.  We  had  gone  only  a  few  miles  further 
when  we  collided  with  two  box  cars  that  had  been  blown  from  the 
switch  to  the  main  track. 

"After  a  considerable  delay  we  started  again,  engine  crippled, 
and  everybody  wet  as  water  could  make  them.  At  Pasadena  we 
took  on  board  several  men,  ladies  and  children,  who  had  been 
standing  waist  deep  in  water  for  several  hours.  Soon  Deep  Water 
was  reached.     Here  two  ladies   got   off  and  were   carried  to  the 


480  SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JAWS   OF    DEATH. 

residence  of  Mr.  W.  B.  Jones.  The  train  had  just  started  again 
when  the  depot  blew  away,  part  of  it  against  our  train,  breaking 
the  windows  and  blinds  of  the  coach  and  throwing  glass  all  over 
US.     IvUckily  no  one  was  hurt. 

"We  had  now  been  three  hours  coining  twelve  miles,  and  we 
all  began  to  grow  more  uneas}^  It  was  at  this  point  where  we 
first  felt  or  knew  what  a  jtorm  we  were  in.  The  coaches  rocked 
like  cradles,  windows  blew  in,  and  it  seemed  that  we  would  be 
blown  away  ourselves.  After  two  hours  more  we  reached  Hast 
La  Porte.  There  most  of  our  companions  left  us  to  look  for  their 
people.  It  did  not  seem  that  an3^one  could  live  in  that  storm — 
the  wind  must  have  been  blowing  lOO  miles  an  hour.  But  our 
friends  knew  that  they  were  needed  at  their  homes,  and  they 
launched  out.  Some  to  be  blown  back  to  us,  only  to  try  it  over 
again  ;  others  to  be  blown  in  the  mud  and  water. 

DIFFICULTIES    OF    A    TRAIN. 

"After  a  considerable  delay  the  train  started  on.  At  West 
La  Porte  we  found  the  depot  blown  across  our  way.  All  went  to 
work  cutting  and  moving  timbers,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the 
wind,  we  soon  had  the  track  clear.  We  now  had  but  one  more 
serious  place  to  get  across  before  we  could  get  to  Seabrook.  At 
last  we  reached  it,  and  were  in  a  few  minutes  across  Taylor's 
bayou,  which  we  found  to  be  a  half  mile  wide  and  the  waves  four 
feet  high.  This  bayou,  in  ordinary  weather,  is  about  fifty  feet 
wide.  On  reaching  Seabrook  we  found  the  depot  full  of  refugees, 
houses  all  gone,  water  over  everything.  Some  of  the  families  of 
our  companions  on  the  way  were  lost,  never  to  be  seen  alive 
again. 

"  Here  we  started  out  to  work  in  earnest  and  it  was  only  a  very 
short  time  before  we  had  everyone  that  was  without  a  home  on 
board.  By  this  time  the  train  crew  had  fires  in  the  coaches  and 
and  we  served  coffee,  cheese  and  bread  to  the  hungry  ones,  and 
made  them  as  comfortable  as  possible.  We  still  had  lots  of  work 
to  do,  though,  and  we  were  looking  for  it  when  a  man  appeared 
on  the  scene,  reporting  Jiidge  Tod's  barn  had  blown  down  on  two 


SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JAWS    OF    DEATH.  48J 

ladies  and  several  children.      We  went  to  work   to  get  them  out, 
and  after  three  hours'  work  we  rescued  all  alive  except  the  mother 
She  probably  could  have  saved  herself,  but   she  gave  up  her  li' 
for  the  children.     She  was  found  in  a  position  leaning  over  then 
protecting  them. 

"Finally  day  came  and  we  could  now  see  what  damage  the 
storm  had  done.  ]\Ir.  Hamilton's  house  vras  the  only  one  left  in 
the  flats,  and  most  of  the  houses  on -the  ridge  were  blown  to 
pieces.      It  was  a  miracle  that  more  lives  were  not  lost. 

"We  gathered  up  everyone  who  wanted  to  come  and  left  for 
Houston  at  9:30  A.  M.  Sunday,  and  arrived  at  Houston  about  12 
o'clock  ;  our  journey  lasting  eighteen  hours,  was  over.  The  gen- 
tlemen on  the  train  who  had  families  at  La  Porte  and  Seabrook 
are  under  lasting  obligations  to  the  Southern  Pacific  officials  and 
especially  to  the  train  crew.  No  braver  crew  ever  went  out  with 
a  train,  and  we  wish  to  tender  them  our  earnest  and  sincere 
thanks.  Courage  and  manly  conduct  have  always  been  lauded 
by  the  world,  and  no  men  ever  stood  more  nobly  to  duty  on  battle 
grounds  than  did  these  men  who  ran  the  relief  train  in  the  full 
fury  of  the  storm  to  the  search  for  the  wave-tossed  people  of  La 
Porte  and  Seabrook." 

As  showing  the  immediate  demand  for  laborers,  the  following 
advertisement  inserted  in  the  "  Houston  Post,"  will  be  of  interest  : 

WANTED  AT  GALVESTON   IMMEDIATELY. 

"24  plasterers,  $4.50  per  day  and  board  paid;  30  bricklayers, 
1^5.50  per  day  and  board  paid  ;  25  tinners,  $3.50  per  day  and  board 
paid  ;  100  laborers,  $2.00  per  day  and  board  paid." 

The  old  sa3ang  that  it  is  an  ill  wind  that  blows  good  to  no 
one  is  illustrated  in  this  advertisement.  Probably  never  before 
in  any  Texas  city  were  workmen  offered  wages  so  high. 

Colonel  Walter  Hudnall,  the  representative  of  the  Treasury 
Department  of  the  Government,  who  was  sent  from  San  Antoni 
to  Galveston,  to  investigate  the   conditions   and  report  completed 
his  work. 

Colonel  Hudnall  spent  several  da3'S  in  the  stricken  city.    He 

31 


482  SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JASVS   Ol'  E-EATH. 

came  prepared  for  the  worst,  but  when  lie  saw  what  actuall}^  had 
occurred,  he  threw  up  his  hands  in  amazement.  No  man,  in  his 
opinion,  can  form  an  estimate  of  the  loss  of  life  and  property 
from  the  reports  which  have  been  sent  out,  and  the  extent  of  the 
devastation  is  beyond  the  grasp  of  human  reason.  He  has  made 
a  canvass  of  the  city  mounted  ;  he  has  visited  every  place  which 
•a  man  could  on  a  horse,  and  he  has  made  a  complete  investigation 
of  the  conditions  as  they  exist. 

He  knew  Galveston  as  she  was  before  being  struck  by  the 
storm,  and  he  knows  her  as  she  is  to-da}'.  In  his  report  to  the 
Treasury  Department,  he  will  say  that  no  man  can  estimate  the 
propert}'  loss  in  the  cit}^,  and  that  it  is  his*  opinion  that  any  one 
attempting  to  make  such  an  estimate  will  miss  it  b}^  $10,000,000; 
the  idea  of  making  any  estimate  of  property  loss  appears  to  him 
ndiculous. 

MAYOR  JONES'  STATEMENT  AND  APPEAL. 

Of  the  loss  of  life.  Colonel  Hudnfil  believes  that  it  will  be 
between  6000  and  8000,  and  he  will  so  report.  He  will  say  that 
he  does  not  believe  that  it  is  possible  for  it  to  be  less  than  6000 
lives,  and  he  would  not  be  surprised  should  it  be  8000.  He  calls 
attention  to  the'  fact  that  in  places  there  are  from  forty  to  sixty 
solid  squares  of  ground  swept  clean  as  a  parlor  floor,  as  far  as 
standing  buildings  are  concerned.  Colonel  Hudnall  does  not 
believe  disease  will  result  if  the  proper  sanitary  precautions  ar^ 
taken,  and  this  is  being  done  as  fast  as  the  laborers  can  distribute 
the  quicklime  and  carbolic  acid. 

As  he  was  leaving  he  was  asked  regarding  his  idea  of  the 
future  of  Galveston,  He  said  :  "  If  the  expression  of  the  people 
who  live  here  is  to  be  my  guide  in  forming  an  opinion  I  will  say 
that  Galveston  will  be  rebuilt  and  will  be  a  prosperous  city. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  property  owners  expect  to  go  to  work 
repairing  the  damage  as  far  as  they  can. 

"There  has  been  a  great  deal  said  about  martial  law,"  con- 
tinued the  colonel.  "The  city  is  yet  under  the  control  of  the 
mayor,  and  civil  law   is    in   force.     The  soldiers  are   being  used 


SNATCHED   FROM   THE  jAWS   OF   DEATH.  483 

simply  to  enforce  tlie  civil  law  and  to  maintain  a  discipline  which 
is  necessar}/  under  the  disturbed  conditions.  The  soldiers  do  not 
work  a  hardship  on  any  one." 

A  statement  and  an  appeal  addressed  to  the  American  people, 
signed  by  Mayor  Jones  and  members  of  the  Relief  Committee, 
and  endorsed  b}^  Governor  Sayres,  was  issued  September  25th.  It 
set  forth  in  detail  the  extent  of  the  disaster  which  overtook  the 
city,  in  part  as  follows  : 

''  Seventeen  days  after  the  storm  at  Galveston  it  is  still 
impossible  to  accnratel}^  estimate  the  loss  of  life  and  propert3\  It 
is  known  that  the  dead  in  the  city  will  number  at  least  one  sixth 
of  the  census  population.  The  island  and  adjacent  niainland  will 
add  perhaps  2000  to  this  number.  Actual  propert}^  damage  is 
incalculable  in  precise  terms,  but  we  have  the  individual  losses, 
and  losses  in  public  property,  such  as  paving,  water  works, schools, 
hospitals,  churches,  etc.,  which  will  easily  amount  to  $30,000,000. 
This  estimate  takes  no  account  of  the  direct  and  indirect  injury  to 
business.  Along  the  beachfront  upwards  of  2600  houses,  by  actual 
map  count,  were  totally  destroyed.  Moreover,  we  estimate  that  97  3^ 
per  cent,  of  the  remaining  houses  throughout  the  city  were  dam- 
aged in  greater  or  less  degree.     In  fact  none  entirel}'-  escaped." 

CONFRONTED  BY  A  GREATER  PROBLEM. 


VTJ 


Trateful  thanks  are  extended  for  the  help  received,  and  the 
address  continues  :  ''  But  a  greater  and  a  graver  work  confronts 
us.  Some  kinds  of  homes,  be  they  ever  so  humble,  must  be 
provided  for  the  10,000  people  now  huddled  in  ruined  houses, 
public  places  and  improvised  camps,  to  the  end  that  they  ma}'  not 

.become  paupers,  but  may  speedily  set  up  their  households 
wherein  repose  all  that  is  best  and  noblest  in  American  life.     We 

.  believe  that  the  well  to  do  and  the  charitable  people  of  this  nation 
will  not  be  contented  to  merely  appease  hunger  and  bind  up 
bruises,  but  will  in  very  large  measure  and  with  more  far  reach- 
ing effect  contribute  to  the  restoration  of  this  people  to  a  plane  of 
self  support  and  self  respect.  It  is  for  this  purpose  that  we  make 
this  further  appeal." 


484  SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JAWS    OF    DEATH. 

M\y.s  Clara  Barton  also  endorsed  tlie  appeal,  sa\'ing  :  "Coiil'l 
the  people  of  our  generous  countr}^  see  as  I  have  seen  in  il.. 
dreadful  reality  the  desolation  and  the  destruction  of  homes  by 
thousands,  the  overwhelming  bereavement  in  the  loss  of  near  and 
dear  ones,  and  the  utter  helplessness  that  confronts  those  remain- 
ing, the  appeal  of  Maj^or  Jones  for  continued  help  would  meet  with 
such  a  response  as  no  other  calamit}^  has  ever  known." 

REVIEWING  THE    SITUATION.  ' 

ReviP.wing  the  situation  in  Galveston,  a  correspondenr  _om 
municatesthe  following  :  "On  vSunday  following  the  storm  all 
saloons  were  closed  by  order  of  the  Maj-or.  On  the  following 
Sunda}^  several  saloonists  began  selling  liquor  on  the  quiet.  The}' 
were  arrested  and  taken  before  Adjutant  General  Scurr}^,  who 
warned  them  they  must  not  repeat  the  offense.  A  prominent 
saloon  man  was  arrested  for  disobe3ang  the  order  and  was  put  to 
work  in  a  street  cleaning  gang.  Dr. Donaldson,  chief  surgeon  of 
one  of  the  relief  corps,  says  it  will  not  be  necessary  for  the  out- 
side surgeons  to  remain  here  longer  than  two  or  three  days  more. 
He  has  written  an  article  for  a  medical  journal  commenting  upon 
the  comparatively  small  number  of  seriously  wounded  and  sick 
persons.  He  explains  the  absence  of  a  large  number  of  seriously 
vounded  persons  by  saying  that  most  of  those  so  wounded  were 
irowned,  but  says  it  is  surprising  that  more  people,  especially 
women  and  children,  did  not  get  sick  from  such  trying  experi- 
ences. 

"  Efforts    are    being  made   to    open    the     public    schools    on 
October  i,  the  date  set  before  the  storm  for  their  opening.     Three 
of  the  school  buildings  can  be  made   usable  at  slight  cost  and  it 
s  planned  to  hold  two  sessions  a  day. 

"  The  estimated  losses   to   the   life  insurance   companies   ? 
Galveston  are  about  $500,000.     Most  of  those  who  carried  old  lin  j 
life   policies    escaped.      The     fraternal    orders    will    lose    quite 
b.tavily. 

"  The  Gulf  i^ort  Trading  Company  addressed  a  letter  to  Gen- 
eral Manager  Polk  of  the  Gulf,  Colorado  and  Santa   Fe  railway, 


SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JAWS   OF    DEATH.  485 

advising  him  that  strenuous  efforts  were  being  made  to  divert  busi- 
ness from  Galveston  to  other  ports  on  representation  that  Galveston 
would  be  unable  to  take  care  of  the  shipments.  He  was  asked  to 
say  whether  his  line  would  issue  domestic  and  foreign  bills  of 
lading  for  export  shipments  through  Galveston.  Colonel  Polk 
replied  that  the  representations  were  entirely  false  ;  that  it  is 
expected  to  have  rail  communication  open  to  Galveston  very  soon 
and  to  begin  the  delivery  of  local  and  export  freight  here  Frida}' 
morning  the  21st ;  that  orders  have  already  been  issued  to  super- 
intendents to  let  Galveston  freight  come  forward  and  Ithat  agents 
have  been  authorized  to  accept  freight  for  Galveston  and  sign 
domestic  and  foreign  bills  of  lading  as  usual. 

A  PECULIAR  CONDITION. 

'The  wheat  in  elevator  'A'  is  being  turned  over  and  put  in 
shape  to  deliver  to  vessels.  There  were  about  1000  cars  of  wheat 
on  track  here  and  most  of  these  show  a  peculiar  condition  on 
inspection.  It  appears  that  in  nearly  all  of  them  there  is  a  foot 
of  wheat  on  the  bottom  to  which  the  water  rose.  It  was  salt  water 
and  the  wheat  caked  so  hard  that  the  'tryer'  used  by  the  inspector 
will  not  penetrate  it.  The  grain  above  this  water  line  appears 
not  to  have  been  damaged.  The  good  grain  was  being  transferred 
by  hand  to  other  cars  and  that  on  the  bottom  will  probably  go  to 
distilleries  or  some  other  places.  A  number  of  grain  exporters, 
in  fact,  all  who  do  business  through  this  port,  have  written  letters 
of  sympathy  and  express  themselves  as  having  confidence  in  the 
ability  of  the  Galveston  people  to  care  for  their  wheat  in  the  best 
manner. 

"  Hanna  &  Leonard's  new  elevator  has  started.  It  was  about 
completed  before  the  storm,  little  damaged  during  the  storm,  and 
has  been  completed  since  the  storm  in  order  to  handle  the  grain 
and  put  such  as  is  out  of  condition  into  condition  for  export. 

"  A  census  bureau  has  been  established  and  placed  in  opera- 
tion. A  mortuary  bureau  has  also  been  opened  where  relatives 
and  friends  make  oath  of  the  known  death  of  persons  lost  in  the 
Storm,     These  bureaus  will  greatly  assist  in  securing  an  accurate 


48B  SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JAWS    OF    DEATH. 

estimate  of  the  loss  of  life.  The  clearing  of  debris  in  the  streets 
proper  has  progressed  and  the  spirit  of  rehabilitating  the  city  is 
seen  in  every  business.  The  military  forces  are  accomplishing 
wonders,  and  the  prediction  is  made  that  Galveston  will  assume 
normal  conditions  in  a  week.  Resumption  of  trade  in  every 
channel  is  apparent.  But  five  arrests  and  court  martial  trials  is 
the  record  for  the  past  week  (the  second  after  the  flood)  since  Gen- 
eral Scurry  assumed  control  of  the  city. 

"  Insurance  Inspector  J.  G.  Youens  has  begun  to  go  over  the 
town  to  make  a  detailed  report  of  the  houses  destro3^ed.  Up  to 
date  he  has  covered  the  district  bounded  on  the  north  by  Bast 
Broadway,  on  the  east  and  south  by  the  Gulf,  and  on  the  west  by 
Fourteenth  street.  In  these  forty-five  blocks  he  found  destroyed 
an  average  of  sixteen  houses  to  the  block.  The  fire  insurance 
companies  are  arranging  to  refund  a  pro  rata  on  policies  on  houses 
and  furniture  where  the  same  have  been  entirely  destroyed  by  the 
hurricane,  and  the  holders  thereof  want  them  cancelled." 

DR.    YOUNG'S    GRAPHIC    STORY. 

The  following  very  interesting  account  of  the  beginning  of 
the  great  Galveston  storm  and  gr.aphic  story  of  his  experience  was 
prepared  by  Dr.  S.  O.  Young  : 

"  Tuesday  morning,  September  4,  I  was  standing  near  the  sig- 
nal service  officer  who  makes  the  weather  bureau  map  each  day  for 
the  Cotton  Exchange.  This  is  simply  a  large  blackboard  on. which 
is  painted  a  map  of  the  United  States.  Wherever  the  bureau  has 
a  signal  station  the  readings  of  the  barometer,  thermometer,  direc- 
tion and  force  of  the  wind  and  rainfall  are  recorded  on  this  map, 
different  colors  of  chalk  being  used  to  indicate  each. 

"  When  the  observation  at  Key  West  was- recorded  I  saw  that 
the  barometer  was  low,  that  the  wind  was  from  the  northeast,  and 
the  map  as  a  whole  showed  pretty  plainly  cyclonic  disturbances  to 
the  south  or  southeast  of  Key  West.  There  was  a  region  of  high 
baron- eter  over  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  shading  gradually 
down  to  Key  West  and  presumably  far  to  the  south  of  that  point, 
while  there  was  another  region  of  high  barometer  over  Colorado, 


SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JAWS    OF    DEATH.  481 

with  a  comparatively  low  barometer  between  the  two,  all  shading 
toward  low  the  further  south  the  records  were  made. 

"  I  remarked  to  the  observer  who  was  making  the  map  tnat 
the  Key  West  record,  backed  by  the  map  as  a  whole,  showed  pretty 
plainly  that  there  was  a  cj'clone  forming.  He  agreed  with  me, 
but  said  his  office  had  received  no  notice  of  anything  of  the  kind. 
Wednesday  afternoon  the  tide  in  the  Gulf  was  high  and  the  water 
was  rough,  though  there  was  no  wind  to  cause  the  disturbance. 
Thursday  afternoon  the  tide  was  again  high  and  the  water  very 
rough,  while  the  atmosphere  had  that  peculiar  hazy  appear- 
ance that  generally  precedes  a  storm,  though  not  to  a  marked 
degree. 

"  The  wind  was  from  the  north,  and  during  the  night  was 
rather  brisk.  PVida}^  the  wind  was  from  the  north,  and  as  night 
came  on  it  increased  in  violence.  The  tide  v."as  very  high  and  the 
Gulf  very  rough,  though  as  a  rule  with  a  north  wind  the  tide  is 
low  and  the  Gulf  as  smooth  as  the  bay.  I  was  then  confident 
that  a  cyclone  was  approaching  us  and  accounted  for  the  high  tide 
by  assuming  that  the  storm  was  moving  toward  the  northwest  or 
against  the  Gulf  stream,  thus  piling  up  the  water  in  the  Gulf. 

KNEW  CYCLONE  WAS    COMING. 

"  F'or  my  own  satisfaction,  and  at  the  request  of  my  friends, 
1  constructed  a  chart,  outlining  roughly  the  origin,  development 
and  probable  course  of  the  cyclone.  P'roni  the  Key  West  obser- 
vation and  the  map  of  Tuesday  I  assumed  that  the  center  of  dis- 
turbance was  originally  somewhere  south  of  Cuba  ;  that  it  moved 
to  the  northwest  as  cyclones  always  do  at  first,  and  that  the  storm 
had  developed  into  a  cj'clone  in  the  neighborhood  of  Yucatan  ; 
would  move  to  the  northwest  and  strike  somewhere  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  going  thence  to  the  northeast  and  pass- 
ing into  the  Atlantic  ocean  off  the  New  England  coast.  The 
error  I  made  was  in  placing  its  course  too  far  east. 

"  My  residence  was  within  two  blocks  of  the  beach,  so  I  had 
ample  opportunity  to  observe  the  Gulf  Frida}^  night  there  was 
{I   strong   wind   from   the   north,  and   Saturday  morning,  about  6 


488  SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JAWS    OF    DEATH. 

o'clock,  I  went  to  the  beacli.  I  saw  that  the  tide  was  high,  but 
that  it  had  fallen  again  and  was  then  at  a  stand.  While  I  was 
out  there  the  tide  began  to  rise  again,  and  soon  washed  up  to  and 
over  the  street  railway  track  near  the  Olympia.  I  was  certain 
then  we  were  going  to  have  a  C3^clone,  and  so  soon  as  I  could  get 
to  town  I  telegraphed  to  my  wife,  who,  with  my  children,  was  on 
'a  Southern  Pacific  train  coming  from  the  West,  to  stop  in  San 
Antonio.  I  told  her  that  a  great  storm  was  on  us,  but  not  to  say 
anything  about  it  and  not  to  feel  anxious  about  me. 

"  By  12  o'clock  the  wind  had  increased  in  violence  to  between 
40  and  50  miles  an  hour,  blowiug  from  the  north,  and  the  water, 
both  in  the  bay  and  Gulf,  was  very  high  and  still  rising.  At  i 
o'clock  I  visited  the  v/harf  front.  The  wind  had  shifted  a  point 
or  two  to  the  east  of  north,  and  was  over  fifty  miles  an  hour. 
The  bay  water  was  over  the  wharves  and  was  slowly  encroaching 
on  the  Strand.     All  low  places  were  completely  inundated. 

LARGE    BUILDINGS    FLOATED   PAST. 

*''i:^'rom  the  bay  I  went  to  the  Gulf  side,  and  found  the  tide 
very  high  and  the  water  very  rough.  At  2  o'clock  I  concluded 
to  go  home  and  look  after  things  there.  My  residence  was  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  avenue  V}4  and  Bath  avenue.  As  both 
Vyz  and  Bath  avenues  were  low  at  that  point,  my  sidewalk  had 
been  curbed  up  about  four  feet  and  the  whole  lot  raised  four  or 
five  feet  above  the  level  of  the  street.  When  I  got  home  I  found 
about  two  feet  of  water  on  ni}^  lot.  I  sat  on  my  front  gallery  and 
watched  the  water.  It  rose  gradually  until  the  third  step  was 
under  water,  when  it  apparently  stopped  rising  and  for  over  an 
hour  remained  stationary. 

"My  house,  a  large  two-story  frame  building,  stood  on  brick 
pillars  about  four  feet  high,  so  I  had  no  fear  of  the  water  coming 
into  the  house.  I  dismissed  a  negro  boy  I  had  with  me,  went 
inside  and  proceeded  to  secure  the  windows  and  doors,  and  to 
make  ever3rthing  ship-shape  before  dark,  for  I  felt  pretty  sure  the 
electric  lights  would  all  be  knocked  out. 

"At   4   o'clock   the  water  was   two   feet  deep  on   tny  ground 


SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JAWS    OF    DEATH.  489 

floor,  and  was  rising  gradnally.  Tlie  wind  had  hauled  further  to 
the  east  and  was  blowing  at  a  terrific  rate.  I  moved  my  chair 
near  the  window  and  watched  the  water  as  it  flowed  down  avenue 
Vyi  io  the  west  at  a  terrific  rate,  carrying  wretched  shanties, 
boxes,  barrels,  wooden  cisterns  and  everything  else  that  fell  in 
its  power.  The  flow  was  almost  exactly  from  east  to  west,  just 
as  the  streets  run,  for  a  box  or  barrel  that  passed  my  house,  in 
the  middle  of  the  street,  kept  the  same  position  as  far  as  I  could 
see  it. 

*'  Between  5  and  6  o'clock  the  wind  became  almost  due  east 
and  increased  in  violence.  The  debris  fairly  flew  past,  so  rapid 
had  the  tide  become.  At  twenty  minutes  to  6  o'clock  (I  am  exact 
because  I  noticed  my  large  clock  had  stopped,  and  wound  it  up 
and  set  it  by  my  watch)  there  was  a  marked  increase  in  the  vio- 
lence of  the  wind.  I  went  to  a  west  window  to  watch  a  fence  I 
had  been  using  as  a  marker  on  the  tide,  and  while  I  was  looking, 
I  saw  the  tide  suddenl}^  rise  fully  four  feet  at  one  bound.  In  a 
few  minutes  several  houses  on  the  south  side  of  P/^,  between 
Twenty-fifth  and  Twenty-sixth,  went  to  pieces  and  floated  away, 
and  the  debris  from  a  number  of  large  buildings  began  to  float 
past  from  the  east. 

THE   ROAR  WAS   AWFUL. 

'  It  was  then  getting  dark  very  rapidly.  I  turned  on  my 
lamps,  but,  as  I  had  anticipated,  there  was  no  electricity.  I  had 
found  a  candle  and  lit  that,  then  I  thought  I  had  best  save  it,  so 
I  blew  it  out,  got  a  comfortable  arm-chair  and  made  mj-self  as 
comfortable  as  possible.  Being  entirely  alone,  with  no  respon- 
sibility on  me,  I  felt  satisfied  and  very  complacent,  for  I  was  fool 
enough  not  to  be  the  least  afraid  of  wind  or  water. 

"  About  7.30  o'clock  I  heard  heavy  thumping  against  the 
east  side  of  ni}'  house,  and  concluded  it  was  downstairs  in  one  of 
the  lower  bed  rooms.  I  lit  the  candle  and  went  to  the  stairs,  and 
found  the  water  was  very  nearly  up  to  the  top  of  them.  I  put  the 
candle  down,  went  to  the  front  door  and  opened  it.  In  a  second  I 
was  blown  back  into  the  hall.     I  eased  mj'self  along  the  east  side, 


490  snatchp:d  from  the  jaws  of  death. 

cauglit  the  door  knob,  then  the  side  of  the  door  on  the  gaiiery 
and  drew  myself  ont  far  enough  to  catch  hold  of  a  blind,  and, 
clinging  with  both  hands,  I  drew  myself  ont  on  the  gallery  and 
stood  there.  The  scene  was  the  grandest  I  ever  witnessed.  It 
was  impossible  to  face  the  wind,  which  had  now  increased  to  full}^ 
I  GO  miles  an  hour,  and  drove  sheets  of  spray  and  rain,  which 
were  blinding. 

"The  roar  was  something  awful.  I  could  see  to  the  right  and 
to  the  left,  and,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  only  my  house  and  that  of 
my  next  door  neighbor,  Mr.  Youens,  were  left  standing.  All  the 
others  were  gone,  and  we  were  left  practically  out  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  About  two  minutes  after  I  got  on  the  gallery,  I  saw  Mr. 
Youens'  house  begin  to  move  forward.  It  turned  partly  around 
and  then  seemed  to  hang  as  if  suspended.  Suddenly  the  wind 
switched  to  the  south  by  east,  and  increased  in  violence.  Mr. 
Youens'  house  rose  like  a  huge  steamboat,  was  swept  back  and 
suddenly  disappeared.  I  knew  that  he  had  his  family  with  him, 
his  wife,  son  and  two  daughters,  and  my  feelings  were  indescriba- 
ble as  I  saw  them  go. 

POSTS    BLOWN    AWAY    LIKE    STRA^VS. 

"  The  new  position  of  the  wind  and  its  increased  violence 
Cciused  a  sudden  rise  in  the  water,  and  at  one  bound  it  reached 
my  second-story  and  poured  in  my  door,  which  was  exactly  thirty- 
one  feet  above  the  level  of  the  street.  The  wind  again  increased. 
It  did  not  come  in  gusts,  but  was  more  like  the  steady  downpour 
of  Niagara  than  anything  I  can  think  of  One  of  the  front  posts 
on  my  gallery  blew  out,  split  my  head  open  and  mashed  my  shoul- 
der badly.  I  was  knocked  insensible  for  a  moment,  but  pulled 
myself  together  and  hung  on. 

"  The  constant  shaking  and  jarring  had  loosened  the  front 
door  facing,  and  I  saw  I  could  tear  it  loose  from  the  top  when  the 
crash  came,  so  I  kept  hold  of  it  all  the  time.  I  had  outlined  a 
plan  of  campaign  from  the  firsi:  and  carried  it  out  to  the  letter. 
The  other  posts  and  railing  of  the  gallery  blew  away  like  straws. 
The  top  of  the  gallery  was  lifted  up  and  disappeared  ov^r  the  top 


SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JAWS   OF    DEATH.  491 

of  the  house.  The  gallery  floated  away,  aud,  with  one  foot  inside 
the  door,  I  was  left  hanging  against  the  front  of  the  house.  It 
was  an  easy  thing  to  stay  there,  for  the  wind  held  me  as  firmly  as 
if  I  had  been  screwed  to  he  thouse. 

'^  It  is  hard  to  believe,  but  still  it  is  true,  A  little  after  8 
o'clock  the  wind  actually  increased  in  violence.  I  am  confident  I 
do  not  exaggerate  one  bit  when  I  say  it  was  blowing  fully  125 
miles  an  hour.  I  could  see  into  the  hall,  and  saw  a  beautiful 
phenomenon  when  the  wind  was  at  its  height.  Whether  from 
phosphorescence  of  the  sea  water  or  from  electricity  generated  bv 
the  high  wind,  I  can't  sa}^,  but,  from  whatever  cause  it  was,  the 
drops  of  rain  became  luminous  as  they  struck  the  wall,  and  it 
looked  like  a  display  of  miniature  fireworks.  The  luminous  par- 
ticles were  about  the  size  of  a  pin  head,  though  one  ball  about 
half  as  large  as  a  bo3''s  marble,  formed  on  the  door  facing  and 
slowly  slipped  down  into  the  water. 

^A^IND   AT    125    MILES  AN    HOUR. 

"  The  wind  at  125  miles  an  hour,  is  something  awful.  I  could 
neither  hear  nor  see  \vhen  it  was  at  its  height  and  it  was  difficult 
to  breathe.  I  am  nearly  six  feet  in  height  and  estimating  the 
surface  of  my  body  exposed  to  the  wind  at  five  square  feet,  my 
body  sustained  at  that  time  a  pressure  of  390  pounds.  I  began 
to  think  my  house  would  never  go.  The  wind  acted  as  if  it 
thought  so,  too,  for  it  got  harder  and  harder  and  harder  until 
finally  I  felt  the  house  yielding.  I  took  a  firm  hold  of  ni}-  door 
facing,  placed  both  feet  against  the  house,  exerted  my  full 
strength,  tore  the  facing  loose  and  as  the  house  went  kicked] 
myself  as  far  away  from  it  as  possible,  so  as  to  avoid  sunken 
debris  rising  to  the  surface. 

"The  house  rose  out  of  the  water  several  feet,  was  caught  by 
the  wind  and  whisped  away  like  a  railway  train  and  I  was  left  in 
perfect  security,  free  from  all  floating  timber  or  debris,  to  follow 
more  slowly.  The  surface  of  the  water  was  almost  flat.  The 
wind  beat  it  down  so  that  there  was  not  even  the  suspicion  of  a 
wave. 


492  SNATCHED    FROM    TIIR   J.WVS    OF    DEATH. 

"T  "  current  impelled  by  the  wind  was  terrific.  Almost  before 
I  had  tei^  '  had  fairly  started  I  was  over  the  Garteuvereiii,  four 
blocks  away.  The  next  mom.ciit  I  was  at  the  corner  of  the  con- 
vent. Here  I  got  in  a  big  whirlpool  and  caught  up  with  a  lot  of 
debris.  I  was  carried  round  and  round  until  I  lost  my  bearings 
completely  and  was  then  floated  off  (as  I  found  afterwards)  to  the 
'northwest,  finalh'  landing  in  the  middle  of  the  street  at  Thirty- 
fourth  and  M  V3,  or  fifteen  blocks  from  where  I  started. 

"It  was  very  dark,  but  I  could  see  the  tops  of  some  houses 
barel}'  above  the  water  ;  could  see  others  totally  wrecked  and 
others  half  submerged.  I  knew  it  was  not  so  very  late  and  as  I 
could  not  see  a  light  or  hear  a  human  soul  I  concluded  that  the 
whole  of  that  part  of  the  town  had  been  destroyed  and  that  I  was 
the  only  survivor.  For  eight  hours  I  clung  to  my  board,  which 
had  found  a  good  resting  place,  and  during  the  whole  time  I  did 
not  hear  a  human  voice  except  that  of  a  woman  in  the  distance 
calling  for  help. 

NEARLY   FROZEN   TO   DEATH. 

"  The  wind  beat  the  rain  on  me  and  nearly  froze  me  to  deatb. 
I  was  never  so  cold  in  my  life.  I  think  I  had  at  least  a  dozen 
good  hard  chills  before  the  water  fell  sufficiently  for  me  to  wade 
to  a  house  half  a  block  away,  a  little  elevated  cottage  of  two 
rooms  in  which  fifteen  or  twenty  colored  people,  who  forgot  their 
awn  misery  when  they  saw  me  bareheaded,  covered  with  blood 
and  shaking  wdth  cold.  They  pulled  me  in  out  of  the  rain, 
wrapped  some  half  dry  clothes  about  my  shoulders  to  get  warmth 
in  my  body  and  for  the  moment  forgot  their  own  miser3^ 

"When  da3dight  came  two  of  the  men  piloted  me  to  town, 
where  I  met  a  friend  whose  room  had  escaped  destruction.  He 
took  me  there,  sent  for  a  doctor,  had  my  wounds  dressed  and  by 
9  o'clock  I  was  myself  again  and  barring  weakness  from  loss  of 
blood  was  as  well  as  ever. 

"  In  conclusion,  I  desire  to  say  this  of  the  storm.  In  my 
opinion  it  began  south  of  Cuba,  developed  fnll}^  near  Yucatan, 
came  to  the  northwest^  landed  west  of  Galveston,  its  center  pas^ 


SNATCHED    FROM    THE   JAWS    OF    DEATH.  iSC. 

ing  soutli  of  Galveston  between  6  and  7  o'clock  Satnrda}'  even- 
ing, and  that  it  was  from  200  to  300  miles  in  diameter.  It  passed 
to  tlie  northeast,  gfoino'  ont  of  the  United  States  over  the  orreat 
lakes  through  Canada  and  died  out  in  the  far  North  Atlantic.  I 
liave  seen  absolutely  no  report  of  this  storm,  but  this  is  my  con- 
clusion from  ni}^  observation.'' 

Said  a  citizen  of  Galveston  :  "It  is  not  all  tears  in  Galveston, 
not  all  sorrow.  Hearts  bowed  down  with  grief  are  not  heav}'  all 
the  time,  and  there  are  smiles  and  good  cheer  and  heart}'  hand 
shakes  with  it  all.      Here  is  a  sample  of  the  conversation  : 

"  '  Hello,  Bill,  I'm  glad  to  see  3^ou  alive  ! ' 

"  'Same  to  you,  old  man,'  as  they  join  hands  in  heart}^  clasp. 

"  '  How  'bout  3'our  faniih'  ?  ' 
All  safe,  thank  God.' 
I  lost  ni}'  little  one,    but    the   rest    are    safe.      How's  3^our 


home  ? 


Gone  :  knocked  into  kindling  wood,  but  that  don't  matter, 
as  I  saved  my  wife  and  children  after  a  hard  struggle.' 


TEARS   IN    MANY  EYES. 


u 


And  the  two  pass  on,  the  one  light  hearted,  the  other  a 
smile  glistening  in  his  tear  dimmed  eye,  both  glad  for  what  was 
left  them.  I  saw  a  telegram  to  a  Galveston  woman  from  a  sister 
in  Houston  with  whom  she  had  hardly  been  on  speaking  terms 
for  years.      It  read  : 

"  '  Are  you  safe  ?     Do   you   want  any   money  ?     Come  up  to 
Houston  and  live  with  us.' 

"  Is  there  necessity  of  comment  ?  I  saw  neighbors  who  had 
been  quarreling  and  saying  spiteful  things  about  each  other  for 
months,  riding  down  the  street  in  the  same  buggy,  the  most  lov-' 
ing  chums  in  the  world.  I  saw  rival  candidates  for  the  same 
political  office  catch  hold  of  opposite  ends  of  the  same  log,  and 
with  a  '  heave  ho  ! '  toss  it  up  out  of  the  way  of  wagons  and  pedes- 
trians, each  doing  the  work  for  humanity's  sake. 

"Social  distinction  is  wiped  out.      I  heard  the  banker  tell  his 
slory  of  the  storm  to  liis  stablemnn  with   as    much  vim  and  gusto 


494  SNATCHED    FROM   THE   JAWS   OF    DEATH. 

as  thoiigli  hobnobbing  with  liis  heaviest  depositor.  White  and 
colored  stopped  to  make  inquiries  of  each  other  and  shake  hands. 
I  saw  a  blind  mendicant,  a  continual  object  of  charit}^,  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Twenty-first  and  Market,  and  heard  of  hundreds  upon 
hundreds  of  great,  strong,  useful  men  who  went  down  With  the 
flood.  Life  is  stranger  than  fiction,  but  it  does  seem  an  ironical 
providence  that  saves  the  halt  and  the  maimed  and  takes  away 
the  usefiil." 

Police  Officer  W.  H.  Plumraer  is  the  happy  possesser  of  a 
four-oared  boat  which  he  has  christened  "  C3^clone  Rescue,"  in 
honor  of  its  work  in  the  storm.  The  boat  is  constructed  on  the 
pattern  of  what  is  known  as  an  Eastern  pod,  such  as  is  used  by 
the  lobster  fishermen  of  Maine.  The  boat  was  built  to  withstand 
the  rough  seas,  and  was  so  constructed  with  two  air-tight  compart- 
ments as  to  be  used  as  a  lifeboat.  This  boat,  with  lashed  oars, 
was  kept  by  Officer  Plummer  in  his  yard,  corner  of  Seventh  and 
Church  streets,  one  of  the  first  districts  to  suffer  from  the  invasion 
of  the  destructive  Gulf  on  the  fatal  day  of  the  storm. 

GRAND    WORK    OF    RESCUE. 

When  Captain  Plummer  went  home  to  dinner  on  that  day  the 
Gulf  was  rising  very  rapidly  and  the  storm  gave  indications  of 
greater  severity.  Having  spent  many  years  at  sea.  Captain 
Plummer  called  his  two  sous,  who  are  sailors,  and  the  three  men 
launched  the  boat  and  started  rescuing  families  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, taking  them  to  St.  Mary's  Infirmary.  From  noon  until  late 
that  night  the  good  boat  and  its  faithful  crew  braved  the  terrific 
storm  and  are  credited  with  having  saved  two  hundred  lives.  On 
the  last  trip  that  night,  with  Captain  Plummer  almost  helpless 
^from  exhaustion  and  his  sons  fast  succumbing  to  the  terrible 
.'battle  of  the  day,  the  boat  suffered  a  slight  mishap.  She  was 
struck  by  a  piece  of  wreckage  driven  with  great  force  into  her 
side.  But  the  boat  held  the  water  and  landed  her  crew  safely  at 
the  Iufirnlar3^ 

Once,  during  the  height  of  the  storm,  the  boat,  with  seven  on 
board,  was   capsized,  but  the  exrif'nenced   seamen   soon  had  her 


SNATCHED   FROM    TIIK  JAWS   OF   DEATH.  495 

righted  and  baled,  and  all  on  board  were  saved.  Captain  Plumnier 
lost  liis  home  and  ever3'^thing'  but  the  scant  clothes  on  his  back, 
but  he  saj's  he  wouldn't  part  with  the  "Cyclone  Rescue"  for  its 
weight  in  gold. 

Some  who  were  out  in  the  water  from  the  time  the  houses 
first  began  to  go  down  drifted  but  a  few  hundred  feet,  while  others 
were  carried  miles  by  the  water.  So  it  was  with  Miss  Anna  Delz, 
a  1 6-year  old  girl,  who  lived  out  in  the  west  end  near  the  beach. 
She  drifted  a  distance  of  over  eighteen  miles,  landing  not  far  from 
Texas  City.  She  passed  the  bay  bridge  and  hung  for  some  time 
on  one  of  the  piling,  then  catching  a  piece  of  driftwood,  continued 
her  perilous  journe}',  landing  not  far  from  her  aunt's  house  on 
the  mainland. 

STORY    OF    A    PERILOUS    TRIP. 

She  tells  the  story  of  her  trip  on  the  crest  of  the  waves  as 
tollows  : 

"  It  was  about  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  I  first  realized 
that  the  storm  was  increasing.  Together  with  a  girl-friend  who 
was  in  the  house,  I  packed  my  mother's  trunk  and  carried  all  of 
the  household  goods  that  I  could  and  piled  them  in  the  second 
stor}'  to  keep  them  from  being  washed  awa}^  by  the  water,  which 
was  rapidly  rising.  During  this  time  the  wind  had  been  increas- 
ing in  velocity  all  of  the  time. 

"  At  about  4  o'clock  my  mother  and  sister,  who  is  13  years  of 
age,  were  taken  to  a  place  of  refuge  by  a  friend.  A  girl  friend 
and  myself  were  left,  thinking  that  we  would  be  safe,  but  it  was 
not  over  an  hour  after  that  when  the  house  went  down.  It  went 
with  a  crash,  and  myself,  together  with  the  others  in  the  house 
were  thrown  out  into  the  furious  waters.  I  caught  onto  a  tree  and 
stayed  there  for  a  little  while,  but  was  dashed  off  and  sank  under 
the  water  several  times.  While  hanging  on  to  the  tree  a  roof 
came  along,  on  wdiich  there  were  about  twenty  people,  mostl}' 
women  and  children.  I  got  on  with  them  and  stayed  there  for 
some  time,  seeing  ni}^  companions  in  distress  being  washed  off 
one  by  one,  until  at  last  there  were  only  a  young  girl  and  myself 


496  SNATCHED    FROM    TUK   JAWS    OK    DEATH. 

left.  Soon  slie  went,  and  I  \va.s  left  alone  to  battle  witli  tlie  waves. 
Soon  I  canglit  a  piece  of  driftwood  and  I  think  I  floated  out 
into  tlie  Gulf  Then  the  wind  changed  and  I  began  going  the 
other  wa}-.  I  was  tossed  out  into  the  ba}^  at  last,  having  passed 
during  this  time  many  people  floating  on  drift  of  all  kinds,  and 
people  struggling  in  the  water  trying  to  save  themselves. 

^'  I  drifted  thus  for  a  long  time,  coming  after  a  while  to  where 
the  railroad  bridges  crossed  the  ba3\  I  caught  hold  of  one  of  the 
piling  and  stayed  there  for  a  time  tr3'ing  to  rest.  During  tlie 
night  my  clothes  had  been  entirely  torn  from  my  body  and  I  was 
in  a  horiible  plight.  After  having  stayed  there  a  little  longer,  I 
caught  a  piece  of  drift  and  turned  loose  and  drifted  witli  the  tide. 
At  last  I  drifted  to  a  pile  of  lumber,  and  finding  that  tbe  water 
was  not  deep  there,  I  fell  on  top  of  the  lumber.  I  was  so 
exhausted  by  the  terrible  ride  that  I  had  taken  that  I  immedi- 
ately went  to  sleep. 

"  About  daylight  I  awakened  and  found  myself  in  a  strange 
place.  I  walked  to  a  house  some  distance  from  there,  and  on 
inquiring,  found  that  I  was  at  Lamarque.  Remembering  that  I 
had  an  aunt  living  at  that  place,  I  found  ber  liouse,-which  was  also 
almost  a  ruin.  This  aunt  took  me  in  charge  and  I  sta3^ed  there 
until  I  beard  from  my  father,  and  then  came  back  to  Galveston." 


CHAPTER  XXV 

Storms    of    Great    Violence    Around    Galveston — Wrecked 
Cities    and    "Vast    Destruction    of    Property- 
Appalling   Sacrifice    of   Life. 

A  CLOSE  observer  and  correspondent  who  is  familiar  with 
ever}^  part  of  Texas  and  is  capable  of  sizing  np  the  situa- 
tion, writes  as  follows  concerning  the  disaster  which  has 
left  Galveston  a  scene  of  death  and  ruin  : 

"  At  first  glance  it  would  seem  that  the  population  of  Gal- 
veston had  been  endowed  by  a  thoughtlessness  which  invites  the 
calamities  it  has  suffered.  Three  times  in  twenty-five  years  storms 
of  great  violence  have  swept  over  the  island  on  which  it  occupies 
a  position  exposed  to  ever}^  energy  of  the  elements,  and  on  the  two 
occasions  whose  history  is  complete  the  survivors  rebuilt  their  city, 
as  they  probably  will  do  again,  and  the  storm  broke  upon  it,  as 
most  likely  it  will  once  more,  with  death  and  destruction  in  its  blast. 

"  Apart  from  the  deep  sympathy  which  One  feels  for  the  peo- 
ple the  situation  may  awaken  a  philosophic  inquiry  whose  con- 
sideration is  of  less  importance  than  the  interest  the  subject 
awakens  and  which  is  reinforced  by  parallel  cases  in  the  history  of 
disaster  since  the  world  began,  and  I  propose  to  show  iti  a  few 
great  cases  how  the  citizens  of  Galveston  are  only  repeating  history' 
when,  even  as  they  gather  their  dead,  they  plan  a  new  city  whose 
foundation  shall  be  enduring  and  which  shall  stand  defiant  and 
permanent,  a  triumph  of  man  over  antagonistic  nature  and  a  civic 
crown  "►!   glory  to  their  efforts.     It  is  no  ignoble  purpose. 

THE    DYKES    OF    HOLLAND. 

"  The  sturd}^  Dutchmen  who  threw  their  dykes  across  the  sea, 
the  Sicilians  who  terraced  Aetna's  lava  sides  with  vineyards,  the 
people  of  San  Francisco  who  rebuilt  their  city  when  it  was  cast 
down  by  earthquakes  until  at  last  the}^  found  a  structural  design 
that  would  resist  the   seismic  influence  that  hold  the  Pacific  coast 

32  497 


498  GREAT  STORMS  AND  VAST   DESTRUCTION. 

in  tremulous  expectation  ;  Chicago  that  has  risen  twice  from  ashes 
to  finer  and  more  secure  architectural  proportions,  and  Calcutta, 
whose  existence  has  been  marked  by  three  beginnings,  are  all  ex- 
pressions of  the  same  splendid  pertinacity  with  which  the  people  of 
Galveston  are  already  animated  and  from  which  will  certainly  ap- 
pear a  new  and  grander  Gulf  city  offering  to  the  menaces  of  nature 
•a  ilcher  challenge. 

A    GREAT    BREAK\VATER. 

"  It  was  nc  accidental  selection  that  caused  Galveston  to  be 
built  as  it  was  upon  a  low  island  whose  approach  from  the  sea 
offered  no  harbor  to  ships  and  to  whose  low,  sandy  shores  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  State  of  which  she  is  the  metropolis  came  only  by 
artificial  and  difficult  channels.  The  sweeping  curves  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  reach  its  northern  apex  at  or  near  this  point,  and  it  is 
there  that  the  ships  seeking  the  nearest  approach  to  the  cotton 
fields  of  Texas  came,  while  the  bay  itself  is  as  nearly  as  possible 
the  average  centre  of  industrial  life  in  the  State.  The  ba}^  was 
never  a  harbor.  To  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  Jersey  coast 
the  situation  of  Galveston  is  easily  presented. 

"Just  as  part  of  the  land  has  reached  out  into  the  sea  aud 
swinging  around  in  different  directions  the  points  came  in  touch 
aud  raised  a  breakwater  which,  gathering  sand  and  pebbles,  became 
the  beach  at  distances  of  four  to  ten  miles  from  the  mainland, 
leaving  interior  bays,  with  shallow  inlets  connecting  them  with  the 
ocean,  Galveston  island  was  formed. 

THE    SWIRLING  TIDES    OF  THE    GULF. 

"  If  the  visitor  to  Barnegat  or  even  to  the  Inlet  end  of  the 
'island  at  Atlantic,  will  recall  how  a  narrow  channel  of  tidal  water 
reaches  back  to  the  sedge  fringed  bays  that  extend  from  Sea  Girt 
to  Cape  May,  and  quadruple  the  width  of  those  interior  waters,  he 
will  have  a  fair  idea  of  the  position  and  surroundings  of  Galveston. 
Across  Galveston  Bay  the  railroads  make  their  approach  over  eight 
to  fifteen  miles  of  tracks  supported  by  piling. 

"  The  waters  of  the  ba}''  are  indeed  navigable  and  through  its 


GREAT    STORMS    x\ND    VAST    nF,STRUCTION.  4; 

shallows  the  moderate  tides  of  the  gulf  swirl  out  chaunels,  which 
the  small  draft  boats  of  Buffalo  Bayou  paddle  aud  sail  just  as  the 
wood  and  oyster  schooners  and  yachts  move  up  Great  Little  Egg 
Harbor  Bay  on  the  Jersey  coast.  In  fact,  the  situation  of  Galveston 
is  not  unlike  that  of  Atlantic  City,  except  that  the  sandy  island  on 
which  it  is  built  is  lower  and  its  front  is  to  the  south  instead  of  to 
the  east. 

"  Of  course  there  is  no  well  or  spring  water  and  the  potable 
supply  comes  from  the  house  roofs,  which  are  carefull}^  built  to 
gather  as  much  rain  as  possible,  to  be  stored  in  cemented  cisterns 
for  use.  As  to  the  harbor  itself  for  sea-going  ships  there  is,  in 
fact,  none.  Only  the  open  gulf  pushed  at  this  point  furthest  into 
the  shore,  but  in  a  sweep  so  grand  that  there  are  no  headlands 
whatever.  The  water  shoals  slowly  from  the  sea  and  ships  of  the 
draft  of  eighteen  feet  or  more  come  in  to  take  the  first  parts  of  their 
loads  in  the  shallower  water  from  lighters  and  move  out  from  time 
to  time  until,  when  down  to  the  load  line,  they  ar^  sometimes  six 
or  seven  miles  from  land. 

TRYING   TO    MAKE    A    HAVEN. 

^'  Great  efforts  have  been  made  to  give  Galveston  a  harbor 
commensurate  with  her  commercial  enterprise,  and  in  some  wa\'S 
success  has  attended  these  efforts.  Long  spurs  of  breakwater  were 
built  out  on  the  principles  of  the  Boca  harbor  at  Buenos  Ayres, 
with  a  view  to  enclosing  an  artificial  haven  for  ships,  but  tlie  preva- 
lent southerl}^  winds,  the  currents  which  they  engender  and  the 
ceaseless  tides  have  made  this  work  one  of  great  difflcult3^  A  fur- 
ther obstacle  has  been  the  shifting,  sandy  bottom,  whose  permeable 
formation  reaches  down  many  feet  before  it  rests  upon  clay  or  rock. 

"The  city  itself  is  built  chiefly  of  wood  and  on  the  lines  of 
architecture  adopted  for  coolness  in  tropical  climates.  That  is  to 
say,  with  vast  doorways  and  windows,  cutting  out  as  much  of  the 
framework  as  possible  and  yet  leave  enough  of  support  for  a  roof. 
This  structural  form  permits  the  whole  house  to  be  opened  for  the 
passage  of  every  breeze,  but  at  the  cost  of  stability. 

"  At  intervals  and  particularly  when  the  spring  or  high  tides 


oOO  GREAT  STORMS  AND  VAST   DESTRUCTION. 

prevail,  and  when  tlie  soiitberl}'  winds  bank  np  the  waters  of  the 
northern  gnlf,  the  streets  of  the  city  are  flooded,  the  sewers  deliver 
themselves  the  wrong  wa}'  and  the  nncertain  foundations  of  the 
city  are  weakened  and  prepared  for  the  fall  which  follows  close 
upon  the  weather  conditions  when  they  are  intensified. 

THE    CITY    A   PREY   TO   THE    STORM. 

"  We  have  now  the  situation  of  Galveston  fairty  beiore'  us, 
and  can  understand  how  it  easil}^  succumbed  to  the  violence  of 
the  late  storm.  It  is  true  that  the  cyclone  was  of  a  potentiality 
which  might  have  razed  a  more  firmly  built  city,  but  probably  in 
no  other  cit}'  in  this  countrj'  could  it  have  caused  such  couiplete 
devastation. 

"  In  twenty-five  years  the  cit}^  of  Galveston  and  the  coast  line 
of  Texas  have  had  three  visitations  of  tropical  hurricanes,  bearing 
death  and  destruction  in  their  blasts.  Every  year  about  the  equi- 
noctial season  storms  of  greater  or  less  fury  occur  and  never,  on 
account  of  the  fragile  materials  and  loose  methods  of  building, 
have  they  failed  of  doing  damage,  but  these  three  occupy  thrones 
of  mark  above  all  others.  In  September,  1875,  the  coast  of  Texas, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  Sabine  Pass,  was  swept 
by  a  cyclone  that  followed  with  its  central  zone  the  curve  of  the 
the  coast,  the  wind  varying  at  different  times  in  its  journey  to 
southeast  to  southwest. 

"The  town  of  Indianola  was  blotted  out  ot  the  world  in  an 
hour.  Not  half  a  dozen  of  its  i,^-vj  inhabitants  escaped,  and  the 
sea  swept  away  the  island  on  which  it  stood,  and  its  site  has  no 
other  mark  than  that  which  the  waves  rolling  over  it  can  offer. 
There  were  not  enough  of  people  to  ask  for  help.  And  as  there 
was  no  longer  a  place  to  rebuild,  the  little  remnant  moved  else- 
where. The  storm  swept  over  Galveston,  raising  a  tidal  wave  that 
changed  in  its  impetuous  flow  the  whole  shape  of  the  island.  From 
the  western  end  nearly  two  miles  of  land  was  cut  off  and  carried 
around  to  the  north  side.  The  city  was  unroofed,  houses  toppled 
and  fell,  the  water  flowed  in  resistless  currents  along  the  levees, 
floating  off  to  sea  thousands  of  bales  of  cotton  and  destroying  in 


GREAT  STORMS  AND  VAST  DESTRUCTION.  501 

Its  I'ild  swirls  the  contents  of  stores  and  lionses  and  nian3^  lives. 
The  number  never  will  be  known  but  estimates  place  it  at  800, 
For  a  week  telegraphic  communication  was  cut  off. 

SPILES    WRENCHED    FROM    THEIR    PLACES 

"  It  was  my  fortune  to  be  in  Texas  as  a  correspondent,  at  the 
time  and  on  the  day  of  the  storm  at  Houston,  some  sixty  miles 
away,  built  at  the  head  of  Buffalo  Bayou,  and  I  was  ordered  to  the 
wrecked  city.  At  that  time  there  was  only  one  railroad,  the  Hous- 
ton and  Galveston,  and  it  was  utterly  destroyed  for  over  thirty 
miles  of  its  length.  The  top  structure  on  the  spiling  across  Gal- 
veston Bay  was,  of  course,  swept  awa}',  but  it  was  a  remarkable 
fact  as  showing  the  violence  of  the  storm  that  about  one  of  every 
three  of  the  great  spiles,  50  to  55  feet  long  and  driven  down  25 
to  30  feet  in  the  sand,  was  wrenched  from  its  place  and  swept 
away. 

"  Others  had  resisted,  but  were  twisted  and  split  by  the  fury 
of  wind  and  waves.  Two  small  boats,  stern  wheelers,  drawino" 
from  28  to  30  inches  of  water,  built  on  the  Mississippi  steamboat 
model  of  ancient  times,  with  a  cabin  over  the  cargo  and  engine 
deck,  a  texas  or  officers'  cabin  on  top  of  that,  and  a  glass  wheel 
house  on  top  of  that — more  fragile  things  3^ou  could  not  imagine — 
were  moored  at  the  mouth  of  the  bayou,  where  the  sluggish  stream 
enters  the  baj'-. 

"  Strange  to  say  these  escaped  with  the  loss  of  their  smoke- 
stacks, and  were  available  to  send  aid,  which  was  not  lacking, 
to  the  desolate  city.  It  was  impossible  to  transport  the  quantities 
of  food  and  clothing  that  poured  in  from  the  North,  and  more  rotted 
md  was  lost  on  the  levee  at  Houston  than  reached  the  distressed 
inhabitants  of  Galveston. 

"  That  part  of  the  city  which  was  not  blown  down  was  im- 
bedded in  sand.  The  Strand,  a  street  in  Galveston,  whose  name 
is  now  familiar  to  the  world  by  reason  of  the  awful  scenes  that  s« 
fecentl}^  have  been  witnessed  there,  was  four  feet  deep  in  sand,  and 
the  Tremont,  Cosmopolitan  and  Great  Southern  Hotels  were  filled 
with  sand  and  liotel  was  kept  on  their  second  floors. 


£02  GREAT  STORMS  AND   VAST  DliSTRUCTION. 


u 


AROSE    LIKE    A    PHOENIX. 

^*  But  tlie  city,  altliougli  cast  down,  was  not  discouraged.  .  It 
!^gan  to  rebuild  itself,  and  by  Christmas  of  that  3'ear  almost  every 
rrace  of  the  awful  calamity  had  disappeared.  The  question  natur- 
rffiy  arises  wh}^  a  population  which  had  received  such  an  awful 
warning  of  its  exposed  condition  should  not  abandon  what  in  a 
military  term  would  be  called  an  untenable  position.  The  answer 
is  obvious.  They  had  something  left  there.  Even  the  island, 
although  distorted  and  out  of  shape,  was  still  there  and  theirs, 
and  they  had  nothing  elsewhere,  nor  means  to  go  to  another  place. 

"  So,  with  hopeful  philosophy  they  rebuilt  their  city,  restored 
its  commerce  and,  encouraged  with  such  empt}^  precepts  as 
'  Better  luck  next  time,'  '  Lightning  never  strikes  twice  in  the  same 
place,'  went  forward  to  meet  their  next  blow,  in  1893,  when  another 
hurricane  visited  them.  It  was  not  so  terrible  in  its  effect,  but 
differed  only  in  degree.  The  late  severe  storm  gives  further 
emphatic  warning,  more  terrible  and  heart-breaking  in  its  losses  of 
life  and  vaster  in  its  destruction  of  property.  But  they  will,  of 
course,  rebuild  their  city  and  seek  to  establish  protective  barriers 
of  breakwaters  and  seawalls  to  maintain  it  in  existence.  In  all 
likelihood  they  will  succeed,  for  the  history  of  these  efforts  is  of 
final  security  after  trial  and  loss,  and  the  firm  resolution  of  man 
rises  over  every  obstacle. 

ASLEEP   OVER  A  VOLCANO. 

"Perhaps  the  persistency  of  the  people  who  dwell  on  lJc  slopes 
at  the  foot  of  Mount  Vesuvius  offers  the  most  striking  illustration 
of  disregard  of  danger  against  which  no  human  provision  can  be 
made.  With  a  volcano  boiling  on  the  verge  of  eruptions  that  are 
forever  imminent  they  pasture  their  flocks  and  press  their  grapes, 
careless  of  the  menace  which  familiarity  has  taught  them  to  de- 
spise. The  whole  kingdom  of  Naples  is  marked  by  the  same  dis- 
regard of  natural  and  uncontrollable  danger.  The  statement  is 
accepted  by  the  encyclopedias  that  in  seventy-five  years  —  from 
1783  to  1857 — ^^^  kingdom  lost  111,000  inhabitants  by  the  effects 


GREAT  STORMS  AND  VAST  DESTRUCTION.  603 

of  earthquakes.     About  1,500  a  year  in  a  population  of  less  than 
5,000,000. 

The  city  of  Lisbon  sits  smiling  and  prosperous  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Tagus,  and  its  inhabitants  still  point  with  pride  to 
scarred  earth  dating  from  the  earthquake  in  which  40,000  lives 
were  lost.  Charleston,  S,  C,  is  rebuilt.  Johnstown,  Pa.,  is  re- 
stored to  its  prosperous  industry.  The  Japanese  still  go  their 
flowery  way  in  Jeddo,  where  in  one  great  shock  200,000  lives  are 
said  to  have  been  lost — which  figure  is  even  approximately  the 
greatest  disaster  the  world  has  ever  known.  St.  Thomas,  in  the 
West  Indies;  Port  Ro3^al,  Jamaica;  Cape  Haytien,  in  Santo  Do- 
mingo, with  a  tribute  of  45,000  lives  within  the  memory  of  men 
yet  living,  and  the  spice  island  of  Krakatoa,  are  still  peopled  de- 
spite the  black  danger  signal  of  the  death  which  constantly  waves 
over  them. 

MYRIAD   LIVES    LOST    IN    GREAT    DISASTERS. 

"  If  you  will  refer  to  the  statistical  sources  of  information  you 
will  find  that  in  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  a  mere  moment  in  the 
life  of  this  world  and  its  races,  and  add  up  the  round  thousands 
only  and  leave  out  the  hundreds  of  lives  which  are  charged  to 
lesser  lists  the  sum  will  reach  1,563,000  souls  in  tlie  thirty-seven 
most  important  earthquake,  volcanic  eruptions,  liurricanes  and  in- 
undations that  have  visited  the  earth.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible 
to  give  any  sort  of  guess  as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  estimates  of  the 
loss  of  life. 

"Even  in  Johnstown  it  is  not  certainly  known  to  this  day 
within  2,000  persons  how  many  were  lost.  The  identified  dead 
numbered  2,228.  The  best  informed  and  conservative  estimates 
place  the  figure  at  3,500,  and  others  reach  5,000,  while  published 
reports,  which  ought  to  be  authoritative,  calmly  name  the  death 
list  at  9,000.  It  is  the  same  at  Galveston,  where  the  number  is  so 
variously  stated  that  no  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  any  numerical 
report  beyond  the  fact  that  anywhere  between  1,000  and  3,000  lives 
have  been  lost.  If  this,  then,  is  the  waywardness  of  figures  in  cases 
where  not  only  the  population  is  known,  but  in  communities  where 


504  GREAT  STORMS  AND  VAST  DESTRUCTION. 

the  associations  of  commerce  and  social  life  lias  been  sucli  tliat  the 
survivors  can  count  the  missing  and  recognize  such  of  the  dead  as 
may  be  found,  how  wild  must  be  the  estimate  placed  upon  such 
cataclysms  as  that  in  Southeastern  Bengal  and  the  Niegen  Islands, 
where  on  October  31,  1876,  in  a  cyclone,  215,000  people  rre  said 
•to  have  perished. 

CARELESS  ABOUT  ALL  DANGER. 

"  But  even  there,  where  such  a  loss  would  imply  the  sacrifice 
of  one  in  every  four  persons  inhabiting  the  teri'itory  so  awfully 
stricken,  the  people  still  pursue  their  daily  avocations,  toil  and 
rest,  love,  hate,  mourn  and  die  with  the  composure  and  ease  of 
mind  that  prevail  in  Philadelphia  or  New  York,  where  no  shadow 
of  storm  is  known  to  hover  and  where  no  devastating  earthquake 
or  fiery  volcano  lurks  for  victims.  But,  of  course,  these  awful 
figures  have  very  little  relation  to  the  actual  losses.  In  the  storm 
in  Bengal  Sir  Richard  Temple,  who  had  charge  of  the  crown  relief, 
did  not  find  that  20,000  lives  were  lost  and  that  probably  not  more 
than  10,000  died  of  the  famine  which  the  loss  of  the  crops  insured. 
In  the  potato  famine  in  Ireland,  in  1846  and  1847,  the  loss  of  life 
was  named  at  120,000  by  those  who  charged  the  whole  business  to 
English  misrule  and  was  named  at  from  8,000  to  20,000  by  the 
royal  commissioners  entrusted  with  the  distribution  of  the  /^lo,- 
000,000  of  Parliamentary  grant  foi  the  relief  of  the  famished  land. 

LAWS    REGULATING   STORMS. 

"  So  the  loss  in  battles  always  begins  to  be  told  in  numbers  that 
occasionally  would  require  more  than  the  combined  forces  of  the 
two  armies  to  supply.  The  first  reports  of  Shiloh  or  Pittsburg 
Landing,  in  the  early  days  of  the  Civil  War,  is  a  case  in  point. 
Had  we  fought  on  at  the  rate  given  then  the  country  would  not 
have  had  a  male  person  in  its  population  a  year  before  the  date  of 
Appomattox.  So  that  we  can  hope  everyday  will  reduce  the  num- 
ber, although  it  cannot  lessen  the  horror  otherwise,  of  the  visita- 
tion the  death  angel  has  made  in  the  Lone  Star  State. 

"  It   is  interesting  to  study  the  law  of  storms  which  take  on 


GREAT   STORMS   AND   VAvST   DESTRUCTION.  505 

such  a  rythmical  obedience  as  it  would  seem  to  appear  at  given 
places  and  times.  In  this  case  the  weather  bureau  was  accurately 
alert  to  the  approaching  disturbance.  Four  days  before  its  arrival 
on  the  coast  its  formation  in  the  Caribbean  Sea  was  noted  and  its 
probable  course  northward  chartered  and  proclaimed  as  a  danger 
*o  the  Atlantic  States.  The  meteorological  phenomenon  was  cor- 
icctly  defined  and  watched  in  its  development  until  on  Thursday 
night  it  reached  the  Florida  coast  and  struck  a  rude  blow  at  Tampa. 
Up  to  this  moment  the  weather  office  had  made  no  mistake  and  its 
predictions  lifted  its  utterance  to  the  domain  of  verified  prophecy 

FREAKS    OF    THE    HURRICANE. 

"  Then  the  behavior  of  the  storm  with  reference  to  its  move- 
ments becomes  almost  fantastic.  It  was  as  if  its  controlling  spirit 
had  received  a  notice  of  the  warning  that  had  preceded  it  and  the 
preparations  of  commerce  to  defend  itself  from  its  attacks.  There- 
fore it  made  a  feint  demonstration  upon  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and 
suddenly  turning  fairly  about  in  its  course  flew  westward  out  of 
barometric  supervision  to  seek  a  more  vulnerable  spot.  Galveston 
was  open  to  it,  and  sweeping  across  the  gulf,  from  which  no  herald 
of  warning  could  hasten  in  advance,  it  struck  the  Texas  coast  on 
Saturday  and  went  howling  with  demoniac  fur}^  over  the  Missis- 
sippi plateau,  across  the  lakes  and  down  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley 
out  to  sea  again,  to  be  chilled  to  death  in  the  frigid  air  currents  of 
the  polar  seas. 

"  When  the  West  India  Islands  and  the  ports  of  Mexico  are 
equipped  with  weather  observing  stations  from  which  prompt  and 
frequent  reports  shall  be  made,  no  storm  can  draw  nigh  on  shores 
.to  effect  a  surprise.  Commerce  can  in  a  measure  protect  itself,  but 
ill-built  cities  and  crops  must  at  intervals  suffer.  The  lesson  of 
the  last  one  is  of  warning,  but  how  to  profit  by  it  outruns  prevision 
that  seeks  absolute  security.  There  can  be  no  such  thing,  '  for  as 
the  pestilence  walketh  in  darkness  and  destruction  wasteth  at  noon 
still  a  thousand  shall  fall  and  ten  thousand  at  tin'  rigflit  hand,  for 
the  hand  of  man  cannot  stay  the  tempest.'  This  is  according  to 
all  human  experience." 


50G  GREAT   STORMS   AND   VAST    DESTRUCTION. 

To  liave  saved  and  then  to  liave  lost  is  if  anything  harder 
to  bear  than  to  have  k-)st  at  first.  It  was  thns  with  Mr.  William 
H.  Irvin,  who  sncceeded  in  saving  his  wife  and  all  but  one  of  his 
children  from  the  deatli  which  the  elements  were  so  anxious  to 
administer,  but  afterwards  lost  his  wife,  who  succumbed  to  the 
injuries  she  received  that  night. 

The  story  of  Irvin  and  his  family's  escape  is  like  those  o^ 
others  who  succeeded  in  getting  out  alive.  It  is  simply  marvel- 
ous, and  their  coming  out  with  their  lives  can  only  be  credited  to 
that  supreme  power  which  is  even  mightier  than  the  winds  and  sea. 
While  he  did  all  that  any  human  could  in  saving  his  loved  ones, 
yet  his  efforts  were  naught  in  that  mighty  battle  of  the  elements. 

GREAT   DARING   SHOWN. 

In  point  of  detail  his  story  corresponds  with  the  many  others 
that  are  told  of  that  night,  but  it  is  one  of  great  daring  also,  one 
in  which  quick  action  and  a  trust  in  Divine  Providence  played  an 
important  part.  Irvin  was  living  with  his  happy  family  in  a 
little  story  and  a  half  cottage  near  the  corner  of  Nineteenth 
street  and  Avenue  0}4  before  the  storm,  but  now  all  of  that 
happy  home  is  gone,  and  two  of  that  happy  family  are  no 
more. 

It  was  early  in  the  afternoon  that  the  water  began  rising 
out  there,  but  it  was  not  until  later,  when  all  chance  of  getting 
out  and  coming  to  town  to  a  place  of  safety  was  gone,  did  they 
become  frightened.  The  house,  though  small  was  strongly  built, 
and  it  was  this  that  caused  several  of  the  neighbors  who  were 
living  in  frail  houses  to  come  to  the  Irvin  home  for  refuge.  They 
were  Mrs.  Crowley,  two  sons  and  a  daughter,  and  Miss  Aldridge. 
Along  in  the  afternoon  they  became  thoroughly  frightened  by 
the  waters,  which  were  rapidly  rising,  and  the  wind  which  was 
increasing  in  velocity  every  minute. 

And  well  they  might,  for  at  that  time  the  house  was  begin- 
ning to  groan  under  the  fierce  onslaughts  of  the  wind  and  the  water. 
They  stayed  downstairs  until  the  water  had  creeped  up  into  the 
house,  coming  up  and  np  until  it  drove  them  to  the  stairs.     Then 


GREAT   STORMS   AND   VAST  DESTRUCTION.  507 

it  drove  them  up  step  by  step.  They  were  frightened,  yes,  but 
never  did  the  dreadful  picture  of  what  did  happen  present 
itself  to  even  their  terror-stricken  minds.  No  imagination  was 
then  able  to  make  a  picture  like  the  one  in  reality. 

They  were  thus  driven  up  into  the  attic  by  the  waters  and 
terrorized  by  the  wind  until  after  dark.  Then,  as  if  to  follow  out/ 
the  idea  that  whom  the  gods  wish  to  destroy  they  first  make  mad, 
the  wind  added  to  their  fright  and  almost  crazed  them  b}^  carry- 
ing before  it  to  their  ears  the  frantic  appeals  for  help  from  those 
who  were  already  in  the  storm's  clutches  and  were  soon  to  become 
its  victims.  The  houses  around  them  went,  nothing  being  able 
to  stand  against  the  mighty  force  of  the  wind  and  waves.  Then  it 
was  that  their  house  began  to  creak  and  groan  louder  than  ever, 
until  at  last  Irvin  and  his  fellows  in  distress  felt  that  it  was  going 
the  next  minute,  and  if  they  did  not  get  out  then  they  never  would. 

EIGHT   CHILDREN   THROWN   OUT  OF   WINDOW. 

So,  having  no  time  for  a  second  thought,  he  picked  up  one  o. 
those  eight  children,  whose  life  was  part  of  his  and  who  made 
his  life  worth  living,  and  with  a  prayer  tossed  him  out  of  the 
window,  to  alight  on  what  he  did  not  know,  if  to  alight  on  any- 
thing. But  he  thought,  and  wisely,  as  circumstances  proved, 
that  they  would  have  a  better  chance  in  the  open  than  in  a  falling 
house.  He  risked  their  falling  into  that  turbulent  sea  and  sink- 
ing, never  to  come  up,  to  leaving  them  in  the  building  to  be  maimed 
by  flying  timbers  and  killed  by  the  falling  house. 

Thus  he  threw  out  all  of  the  eight,  then  came  his  wife,  then 
the  others  who  had  come  to  him  for  refuge.  He  did  not  know 
what  the  fate  of  each  of  the  former  was  \vhen  he  threw  out 
another,  but  trusted  to  Divine  Providence,  and  not  in  vain.  For 
as  he  threw  the  first  out  a  shed  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  as  if 
with  heroic  instinct,  washed  against  the  building  directly  under 
the  window,  and  there  it  stayed  for  a  few  seconds,  catching  each 
member  of  the  family  as  he  or  she  fell,  even  waiting  for  him. 

The  rest  of  Irvin's  story  is  that  of  a  continual  fight  to  keep 
his  family  from  being  blown  and  washed  off  of  the  raft  that  Provi- 


5':;8  CiREAT   STORMS   AND    VAST    DESTRUCTION. 

dence  had  given  liim.  Tliis  figlit  lasted  for  hours  and  their  per- 
ilous position  was  made  even  greater  b}^  the  fl3dng  timbers  and 
pieces  of  slate  which  the  wind  would  seem  to  take  such  delight 
in  hurling  at  them.  It  was  a  battle  between  providence  and  the 
elements  to  see  which  should  claim  the  famil}^  for  its  own,  and 
not  until  nearly  three  o'clock  did  the  wind  and  water  cease  in 
their  efforts  to  add  the  Irvin  family  to  their  long  list  of  victims. 
The  elements  were  recompensed  by  taking  one  of  the  eight 
children  and  injuring  the  wife  so  that  she  would  later  become  one 
of  their   dead. 

At  about  three  o'clock  the  next  morning  Irvin  found  himself 
and  family,  except  the  little  one  who  had  been  lost,  several  blocks 
from  where  he  had  formerly  lived,  and  mixed  up  in  the  debris. 
At  daylight  he  succeeded  in  getting  his  wife  and  children  out  and 
brought  them  to  the  business  part  of  the  town. 

THE    MOST    REMARKABLE    EXPERIENCE. 

As  soon  as  possible  he  sent  the  children  to  relatives  in  Hous- 
ton. In  the  meantime  his  wife  had  been  taken  to  the  Sealy  hos- 
pital suffering  from  the  injuries  she  had  received  during  'the 
iitorm.  At  this  time  he  realized  that  he  was  hurt  also  and  went 
to  the  temporary  hospital  at  the  Custom  House,  where  he  staj^ed 
for  several  days  under  treatment.  It  was  while  he  was  there  that 
the  last  sad  chapter  was  added  to  his  story.  While  there  confined 
to  his  bed,  his  wife  died  in  the  Sealy  hospital,  and  he  had  to  lie 
at  the  Custom  House  without  getting  a  last  look  at  the  woman 
whom  he  loved,  while  strangers  were  burying  her  body.  Of  his 
neighbors  who  took  refuge  with  him  all  were  saved  except  the  little 
daughter  of  Mr.  Crowley. 


IMPRISONED   BY  THE  STORM. 

Thrilling  Experience  of  Colonel  Anderson,  the  Fort  Point  Lighthouse 

Keeper  and  His  W^ife — In  the  Face  of  Death  the  Light  Was 

Put  Up — Isolated  for  Days   in  the   Wrecked   House 

Without   Supplies. 

THE  government  reservation  of  several  hundred  acres  situated  at  the 
extreme  eastern  end  of  Galveston  island  met  the  full  force  of  the 
storm  of  September  8th.  Unprotected  from  any  side  the  destruc- 
tive hurricane  and  relentless  gulf  swept  the  historic  spot  and  the  massive 
concrete  fortifications  crumbled  like  so  much  papier  mache.  The  sub- 
stantial, double  iron-braced  barrack  buildings  and  quarters  were  battered 
into  kindling  wood  and  not  a  stick  stands  to  mark  the  place  where  thirteen 
buildings  stood.  Situated  within  the  United  States  government  reserva- 
tion were  the  quarantine  oflficers'  home  and  headquarters ;  the  torpedo 
casemate,  torpedo  cable-tank,  torpedo  warehouse,  engineers'  store  rooms 
and  wharf  leading  to  the  cable  tank  and  casemate. 

These  structures  were  located  on  the  bay  shore  in  the  no-rthwestern 
corner  of  the  immense  reservation.  Following  the  jetty  as  it  extended 
eastward  and  curved  to  the  south  were  the  United  States  life  saving 
station  and  the  Fort  Point  light  house,  each  about  two  hundred  yards  apart. 
At  the  northeastern  point  of  the  island  are  the  two  rapid-fire  batteries 
pointing  over  the  jetty  and  commanding  the  channel  in  the  bay  between 
the  two  jetties.  Around  on  the  eastern  and  southeastern  edge  of  the 
point  are  the  lo-inch  rifle  battery  and  the  12-inch  mortar  battery,  about 
500  yards  apart.  In  the  centre  of  the  reservation  were  grouped  the  bar- 
rack buildings.  These  buildings  were  built  about  eighteen  months  ago 
and  afiforded  accommodations  for  a  one-battery  post. 

The  government  was  raising  this  reservation  by  filling  in  the  site 
about  ten  feet  above  mean  low  tide.  The  quarters  had  not  been  occupied, 
having  been  built  on  piling,  high  in  the  air,  to  allow  for  the  filling  which 
was  being  distributed  in  the  shape  of  sand  pumped  from  the  bay  by  the 
government  dredge  boat.  The  detail  of  twelve  men  from  battery  O 
which  cared  for  the  batteries  at  Fort  San  Jacinto,  which  was  the  new 
name  given  to  the  historic  "Fort  Point"  of  early  Texas  days,  occu- 
pied quarters  in  temporary  structures  erected  in  the  rear  of  the  lo-inch 
battery. 

Before  the  storm  Fort  San  Jacinto  was  a  most  inviting  and  attractive 
o^  ace.     The  immense  reservation  east  of  the  fence,  which  marked  the 

609 


610  IMPRISONED  IN  A  LIGHTHOUSE. 

western  boundary,  extending  across  the  island  from  bay  to  gulf,  was  a 
most  picturesque  section  of  the  island.  When  the  storm  had  finished  its 
merciless  onslaught,  Fort  San  Jacinto  and  its  government  structures  pre- 
sented a  picture  of  terrible  ruin.  The  costly  coast  fortifications,  which 
had  been  constructed  to  withstand  the  attacking  powers  of  the  navies  of 
the  world,  were  silenced  and  rendered  helpless  by  the  combined  batteries 
of  the  wind  and  sea. 

The  life  saving  station,  where  Captain  Edward  Haines  and  nine  of 
his  brave  comrades  stood  ready  to  render  succor  to  the  storm-driven 
wretches,  was  picked  iip  with  its  load  of  boats,  beach  apparatus  and  other 
life  saving  paraphernalia  and  crushed  like  a  match  box.  Only  four  or 
five  of  the  long  pilings  mark  the  site  of  the  station  house.  Mrs.  Haines, 
wife  of  Captain  Haines,  and  one  of  the  crew  met  their  death  at  the  station 
when  the  building  collapsed. 

WATERS  OF  BAY  AND  GULF  MEET. 

The  south  jetty,  which  marked  the  northern  and  eastern  boundaries 
of  the  reservation,  pointed  its  long  line  of  rail-capped  rocks  five  feet  above 
the  tide  before  the  storm.  But  when  the  northeast  gale  backed  the  waters 
<of  the  bay  against  the  stone  wall  and  the  storm  swelled  the  bay  out  of  its 
))anks,  the  water  rose  above  the  jetty  and  swept  like  a  millrace  to  meet  the 
waters  of  the  gulf,  which  came  running  in  from  the  southeast.  This  was 
early  in  the  afternoon,  and  as  the  hurricane  increased  in  velocity  and  the 
gulf  roared  out  its  warning,  the  terrible  work  of  destruction  commenced. 
The  reservation  was  inundated  and  the  force  of  the  mighty  waters  quickly 
dug  channels  beneath  the  fortifications. 

Then  the  wind  and  gulf  joined  forces  and  the  great  coast  defenses 
succumbed  to  the  attack  and  were  washed  from  their  foundations  and  half 
buried  in  the  grave  dug  by  the  waters  of  the  gulf.  The  immense  concrete 
and  rock  structures  toppled  like  toy  houses  as  the  greedy  waters  plowed 
channel  after  channel  in  the  quicksand  upon  which  the  batteries  stood. 
With  the  wooden  structures,  the  barracks  and  warehouses,  the  wind  made 
quick  work,  and  the  wreckage  was  sliot  through  the  rapids  and  carried 
\.o  sea. 

As  the  waters  on  their  reservation  rose  higher  and  higher  and  the  for- 
tifications sank  from  view  the  lighthouse  stood  alone  in  the  high  sea  which 
made  the  gulf  and  bay  one.  In  this  structure  two  human  souls  watched 
the  storm  gods  at  work  and  waited  for  their  time.  There  was  no  hope  of 
escape.  The  steel  bridge  leading  from  the  top  of  the  jetty  to  the  light- 
house had  been  twisted  by  the  wind  and  carried  away;  the  lifeboat  which 


IMPRISONED  IN  A  LIGHTHOUSE.  511 

hung  from  davits  beneath  the  house  had  been  snatched  from  its  position 
and  smashed  against  the  iron  supports,  and  the  water  carried  oflf  the  splin- 
tered remnants. 

Night  came  and  the  lamp  in  the  tower,  as  though  defying  the  hellish 
work  of  the  raging  elements,  cast  its  mellow  rays  of  light  upon  the  scene 
of  devastation  and  death  which  Night  had  just  covered  with  its  mantle 
That  human  hands  should  dare  to  illuminate  the  appalling  scene  of  tragedy 
must  have  enraged  the  murderous  elements,  and  the  storm  batteries  were 
turned  on  the  tower.  For  an  hour  or  more  the  attack  continued  with 
increasing  vengeful  power,  and  then — the  light  went  out.  Satisfied,  per- 
haps, that  the  last  defender  of  the  reservation  had  been  silenced  the  war- 
ring elements  abandoned  their  fierce  attack  and  entered  the  city  to  finish 
their  destruction. 

With  the  dawning  of  day  an  aged  couple,  who  had  faced  many  dan- 
gers in  life's  stormy  sea  together,  came  out  on  the  gallery  of  the  lighthouse 
and,  standing  arm  in  arm,  viewed  the  funeral  procession  in  the  bay.  They 
had  survived  the  night,  and  while  they  stood  there  high  above  the  water 
in  silent  thanksgiving  for  their  safe  deliverance,  they  saw  the  ebbing  tide 
carrying  its  dead  to  sea.  Out  through  the  jetties  the  long  cortege  moved 
swiftly,  with  the  angel  of  death  piloting  the  craft  of  human  corpses. 

RISES   TO    A    HEIGHT    OF    SIXTY    FEET. 

Fort  Point  lighthouse  is  situated  two  miles  from  the  city.  It  is  a  six- 
sided  iron  structure  rising  above  the  water  to  a  height  of  about  sixty  feet. 
It  stands  about  300  feet  south  of  the  jetty,  and  the  water  up  to  the  time  of 
the  storm  was  never  over  two  feet  in  depth  around  the  house.  At  times 
it  was  dry,  but  usually  only  a  few  inches  of  water  played  around  the  iron 
screw  piles,  which  were  screwed  into  the  sand  about  eighteen  feet,  and 
upon  which  the  iron  superstructure  is  supported.  The  metal  framework 
supporting  the  lighthouse  proper  and  the  light  tower  rises  about  thirty- 
five  feet  froui  the  base. 

Then  comes  the  living  apartments  of  the  keeper.  Colonel  C.  A.  Ander- 
gon,  and  his  wife.  On  top  is  the  light  tower,  a  s^"x-sided  glass  house,  with 
iron  framework.  A  gallery  encircles  the  living  apartments,  and  another 
the  light  tower.  About  ten  feet  beneath  the  living  apartments  and  al)Out 
twenty-five  feet  above  the  base  a  wooden  platform  served  the  dual  purpose 
01  basement  and  back  yard  to  the  isolated  habitation.  On  this  platform 
two  large  tanks  furnished  fresh  water  for  the  household,  a  shed  held  the 
wood  supply  and  another  shed  was  used  as  a  storehouse  for  a  several 
months'  supply  of  kerosene  oil  for  tne  light. 


512  IMPRISONED  IN  A  LIGHTHOUSE. 

From  the  jetty  a  steel  bridge  led  to  the  lighthouse,  and  from  the 
bridge  a  stairway  extended  to  the  basement  and  living  apartments.  In 
the  rear  an  iron  ladder  leading  from  the  gallery  of  the  keeper's  home 
communicated  with  the  "back  yard"  and  basement,  and  also  with  the 
boat  house  and  a  platform  extending  from  the  rear  of  the  structure  to  the 
bridge  in  front. 

When  the  wind  had  subsided  and  the  sea  receded  the  naked  metal 
frame  supporting  the  house  was  all  that  was  left  of  the  lower  structure. 
Wrapped  around  the  iron  pillars  and  braces  were  steel  railroad  tracks, 
which  the  wind  and  sea  had  wrenched  from  the  jetty  railroad  and  twisted 
around  the  lighthouse  supports.  The  bridge  had  fallen  an  easy  victim  to 
the  storm,  and  the  water  supply,  wood,  oil,  lifeboat  and  stairway  were 
torn  from  their  fastenings  and  carried  to  sea.  The  jetty,  with  its  huge 
rocks,  weighing  tons,  had  suffered  many  a  breach,  and  a  large  opening 
was  in  front  of  the  lighthouse.  Through  this  break  the  waters  of  the 
gulf  and  bay  rushed  like  a  mill  race,  and  a  new  channel  connecting  the 
bay  and  gulf  was  cut  in  a  night.  The  isolation  of  the  lighthouse  was 
most  complete. 

STORM    HO\A^LS   A    DEATH    WARNING. 

Colonel  Anderson  is  seventy-three  years  of  age  and  his  wife  some 
years  his  junior.  No  human  mind  can  picture  their  experiences  on  that 
night  of  nights.  Words  are  inadquate  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  feelings 
of  this  devoted  couple  while  the  storm  cried  out  its  death  warning  and 
these  two  mortals  prepared  for  the  end  which  they  were  so  sure  was  at 
hand.  To  attempt  to  leave  the  home  would  have  been  madness  itself, 
but  this  thought  was  not  for  a  moment  entertained.  The  colonel  would 
never  desert  his  post,  and  his  consort  was  happy  to  be  near  that  they  may 
both  go  to  their  death  together. 

Four  rooms  and  a  bath  room  comprised  the  home  of  the  keeper,  and 
the  many  friends  of  the  family  speak  of  the  place  as  "  Mamma  Anderson's 
doll  house."  Not  because  the  apartments  are  small,  for  they  are  com- 
paratively good  sized  rooms,  but  because  they  were  the  cosiest  and  pret-' 
tiest  furnished  rooms  to  be  found,  perhaps,  on  the  whole  island.  Every^ 
nook  and  corner  reflected  the  exquisite  handiwork  of  the  dear  housewife 
who  made  this  home  an  emporium  of  fancy  needle  work,  embroidery, 
dainty  laces  and  other  rich  and  beautiful  decorations  and  ornaments  in 
which  she  justly  took  great  pride. 

The  affectionate  couple  addressed  each  other  in  the  endearing  terms 


IMPRISONED  IN  A   LIGHTHOUSE.  51ft 

of  "Mama"  and  "Papa,"   and  their  home  far  beyond  the  city  is  truly 
*'  home,  sweet  home." 

Barly  in  the  afternoon  of  the  storm  Captain  Haines  and  his  brave 
crew  from  the  life  saving  station  manned  the  life  boat  and  started  to  go  to 
the  lighthouse  to  bring  the  keeper  and  his  wife  to  town.  But  even  at  that 
early  hour  no  boat  could  live  in  the  gale  and  raging  sea  that  was  threaten- 
ing the  destruction  of  the  whole  island.  The  wall  of  rock,  called  the 
jetty,  would  not  permit  any  boat  approaching  within  several  hundred  feet 
of  the  sharp-pointed  line  of  stone  extending  five  miles  to  sea.  But,  as 
Mrs.  Anderson  said  in  relating  the  incident  to  a  News  reporter  who  visited 
the  stricken  home  two  weeks  after  the  storm:  "  It  was  a  noble  act  for  Cap- 
tain Haines  to  attempt  to  rescue  us,  but  it  would  have  resulted  in  a  useless 
risk,  because  Papa  would  not  have  left  the  lighthouse  while  it  stood  and 
I  would  never  leave  without  him." 

PREPARED    FOR   THE   WORST. 

Two  hours  after  Captain  Haines'  attempt,  the  life  saving  station  col- 
lapsed and  Mrs.  Haines,  the  nearest  neighbor  of  the  lighthouse  keeper's 
family,  and  one  of  the  crew  were  killed.  As  the  shades  of  night  began  to 
fall  the  destruction  in  and  about  the  Point  was  about  complete,  and  the 
keeper  of  the  light  and  his  faithful  companion  withdrew  to  prepare  them- 
selves for  the  worst.  From  the  sleeping  room  of  Colonel  Anderson  a  stair- 
way, winding  around  a  steel  post,  which  extends  from  the  top  of  the  light 
tower  through  the  center  of  the  entire  structure,  and  fastened  to  a  screw 
pile  in  the  sand  bed,  leads  to  the  light  tower. 

Promptly  at  the  usual  hour  the  keeper  who,  for  five  years,  has  watched 
and  cared  for  the  light,  made  his  way  to  the  tower  with  his  brass  kerosene 
lamp. and  placed  it  within  the  strong,  magnifying  circular  lens.  The  linen 
curtains  which  shade  the  glass  enclosure  during  the  day  were  drawn  aside 
and  the  bright  light  shed  its  rays  out  into  the  gloom,  and  storm-tossed  ves- 
sels in  port  were  able  to  get  their  bearings.  • 

The  water  rose   higher  and  higher  and  the  storm  waves  sent  their 

spray  over  the  top  of  the  tower.     The  hurricane   increased  in  violence 

and  the  slate  from  the  roof  of  the  keeper's  home  was  picked  oflf  piece  by 

piece   by  the  wind.     An  hour  passed,  and  the  keeper  had  made  frequent 

journeys   to  the   tower  to  see  that  the  light  was  burning.  .  He  went  up 

again,  but  had  hardly  reached  the  landing  through  the  small  opening  in 

the   floor,  when  one  of  the  large   panes  of  thick  glass  on  the  northeast 

side  was  smashed   by  flying  »late.     The   light  was  extinguished  and  a 

piece  of  glass  struck  the  aged  keeper  in  the  head  and  face.     The  opening 
33 


514  IMPRISONED  IN  A  LIGHTHOUSE. 

in  the  lens  faced  the  broken  window  pane  and  it  was  useless  to  relight  the 
lamp.  Stunned  by  the  blow,  and  bleeding  from  the  wounds  in  his  head 
and  face,  the  old  man  made  his  way  down  the  stairs  where  his  wife 
waited  and  watched  for  his  return.  "Mama"  quickly  dressed  the 
wounds,  and  then  the  aged  couple  went  into  the  parlor  and  in  silence 
waited  for  the  end. 

)  Above  the  howling  tempest  the  agonizing  grinding  of  the  jetty  rail- 
road iron  on  the  metal  supports  of  the  lighthouse  struck  terror  to  the 
hearts  of  the  anxious  watchers  imprisoned  above.  The  slate  roof  suffered 
severely  and  the  rain  pouring  in  from  above  added  to  the  pitiful  experi- 
ence of  the  night. 

IN    DANGER   OF    STARVATION. 

This  is  just  the  plain  story  of  what  happened  on  that  fateful  night, 
but  the  sufferings  of  the  next  few  days  were  even  greater  to  the  keeper 
and  his  wife.  There  were  no  provisions  in  the  house  and  the  supply  of 
vegetables,  fuel  and  fresh  water  in  the  "  basement "  had  been  washed 
away.  The  water  around  the  house  even  after  the  tide  went  out  was  over 
ten  feet  deep.  The  life  boat  had  been  stolen  by  the  storm,  and  not  even  a 
plank  to  serve  as  a  raft  was  to  be  found  on  the  premises.  Having  weath- 
ered the  terrible  storm  they  were  apparently  left  to  starve  to  death.  The 
shipping  in  the  harbor  had  suflfered  and  no  boats  were  to  be  seen  in  the 
channel.  The  flag  of  distress  hoisted  on  the  gallery  was  not  responded 
to,  and  no  small  boat  could  enter  through  the  breach  in  the  jetty  ;  it  was 
too  dangerous.  Alone  and  forgotten.  Who  thought  of  the  lighthouse 
and  the  two  mortals  imprisoned  there  by  the  storm  and  isolated  by  fate  ? 

Three  days  passed  and  the  scant  supply  of  three  or  four  cans  of  soup 
and  fruit  had  long  since  been  exhausted.  On  the  third  day  a  voice  was 
heard  calling  from  below  and  Mrs.  Anderson  recognized  her  son,  C.  D. 
Anderson,  Jr.,  a  boy  of  i6  years,  swimming  in  the  water  from  the  jetty 
to  the  lighthouse.  He  had  for  three  days  been  trying  to  get  to  his  father 
and  mother,  having  been  up  the  bay  with  a  surveying  party  when  the 
storm  struck  the  island.  Dr.  Mayfield,  the  quarantine  officer,  had  brought 
him  in  his  boat  from  town. 

\  ... ,  Young  Anderson  was  fearful  of  the  fate  of  his  parents  and  he  made 
his  way  to  them  as  soon  as  possible.  In  a  small  bundle  which  he  man- 
aged to  save  while  he  swam  the  stream,  he  carried  some  nourishment, 
but  he  had  not  contemplated  that  he  would  find  his  mother  and  father 
suffering  for  food  and  water.  The  boy  returned  to  town  and  notified  the 
authorities  to  send  food  and  fresh  water  to  the  water-bound  keeper  and 


IMPRISONED  IN  A  tIGHTHOUSE;.  613 

his  wife,  but  the  request  was  not  complied  with.  The  city  was  weighted 
with  sorrow  and  every  man  was  burdened  with  grave  responsibilities.  No 
boats  were  running  out  in  that  direction. 

Ten  days  wore  away  and  the  situation  had  become  critical  with  the 
noble  keeper  and  his  wife  when  the  Arbutus,  the  light-house  tender,  came 
into  port,  and  passing  the  light  house  saw  the  signal  of  distress  flying 
from  the  prison-home.  That  day  a  supply  of  food  and  two  small  casks  of 
tainted  water  were  delivered  at  the  light  house.  It  was  not  the  food  that 
the  family  was  accustomed  to — it  was  simply  hard  tack  and  salt  meatg 
which  is  supplied  as  rations  to  the  crews  of  vessels.  The  government 
does  not  furnish  supplies  to  its  lighthouse  keepers,  and  Colonel  Anderson's 
home  always  boasted  of  the  goodies  served  at  meal  time  at  his  own  expense. 

THE    COLONEL    A    NOTED    CHARACTER. 

Two  weeks  after  the  storm  the  situation  had  been  somewhat  improved, 
but  the  fresh  water  supply  had  been  exhausted  and  when  a  News  reporter 
visited  the  home  Colonel  Anderson  and  his  wife  were  praying  for  rain 
that  they  might  catch  a  supply  of  heaven's  dew  in  a  tub  which  had  been 
placed  under  the  spout  from  the  roof  The  light  house  tender  Arbutus 
had  sent  a  man  who  repaired  the  damaged  light  tower,  but  the  aged 
couple  were  left  to  their  own  resources  to  get  water  and  food.  The  re« 
porter,  who  had  been  able  to  reach  the  light  house  through  the  kindness 
of  Assistant  Engineer  Wilcox  of  the  United  States  engineering  office, 
brought  back  to  town  another  communication  asking  that  food  and  water 
be  sent  out  to  the  light  house. 

Colonel  C.  D.  Anderson  is  quite  a  noted  character  and  is  well  known 
as  a  man  who  figured  conspicuously  and  gallantly  in  the  civil  war,  and 
also  in  public  office  since  the  war.  He  is  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  a 
graduate  of  West  Point  and  held  a  commission  in  the  United  States  army 
before  the  civil  war.  He  received  his  appointment  as  second  lieutenant 
in  the  Fourth  artillery  from  Texas  on  June  26,  1856,  was  made  first 
lieutenant  July  6,  1859,  ^^'^  o^  April  i,  1861,  resigned  his  commission 
and  came  south  to  join  the  army  of  the  confederacy.  He  was  appointed 
to  A  captaincy  and  distinguished  himself  and  rose  rapidly  to  the  rank  of 
Cclonel  and  was  given  command  of  the  Twenty-first  Alabama  infantry. 

He  was  in  command  of  Fort  Gaines  and  his  gallant  defense  of  that 
fort  won  the  admiration  of  Admiral  Farragut,  who  returned  Colonel  An- 
derson's sword  which  was  delivered  to  the  admiral  at  the  surrender  of  the 
fort.  Colonel  Anderson  has  the  sword  in  his  possession  and  prides  it  as  a 
gift  from  his  friends  when  he  came  south  and  joined  the  confederate  army. 


516  IMPRISONED  IN  A  LIGHTHOUSE. 

The  blade  of  the  sword  bears  the  following  Inscription  which  Admiral 
Farragut  had  engraved  on  the  weapon  before  its  return  to  its  owner  : 

"Returned  to  Colonel  C.  D.  Anderson  by  Admiral  Farragut  for  his 
gallant  defense  of  Fort  Gaines,  April  8,  1864." 

The  sword  was  carried  by  Colonel  Anderson  In  the  battle  of  Shiloh 
and  through  many  other  battles  and  historical  occurrences  In  the  kw 
struggle  between  the  north  and  the  south. 

After  the  war  the  colonel,  who  Is  a  civil  engineer  of  note,  held  sev- 
eral prominent  positions  under  the  government  In  river  and  harbor  en- 
gineering, and  finally  came  to  Texas  where  he  has  resided  for  many  years. 
He  engaged  In  railroad  construction  and  built  many  miles  of  Texas  roads. 
He  served  two  terms  as  city  engineer  of  Austin  and  then  came  to  Gal- 
veston. The  new  custom  house  In  this  city  stands  as  a  monument  to  the 
engineering  skill  of  the  aged  keeper  of  Fort  Point  lighthouse,  whose  life 
history  reads  like  a  romance.  Mrs.  Anderson  comes  from  a  family  closely 
associated  with  the  history  of  this  country,  and  the  department  of  justice 
building  In  Washington  was  her  father's  home  and  the  house  where  Col- 
'^nel  Anderson,  then  a  gallant  young  army  officer,  claimed  her  as  his  bride. 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS 


OF  THE   GREAT 


GALVESTON   HORROR. 


THE  Galveston  Daily  News  printed  the  following  list  of  those  known 
to  have  perished  in  the  hurricane.  The  names  given  below  make 
a  total  of  nearly  5000. 


Ackermann,  Herman,  wife  and  daughter. 

Ackerraan,  Chas. 

Adams,  Mrs.  Mary  (colored). 

Adams,  Miss  Katie  May,  daughter  of  H.  B. 

Adams  of  Malvern,  Ark. 
Adams,  Bennie  and  Jesse. 
Adam.s,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Toby  (colored). 
Adameit,  Mrs.  Gotleib  and  seven  children. 
Adascheck,  Mrs  Powell  and  four  children, 

2810  R. 
Agin,  George  and  child. 
Aguilo,  Joe  B.  and  three  children. 
Ahy,  Mrs.  John  and  three  children. 
Akers,  C.  B.,  wife  and  three  children. 
Albano,  Mrs.  and  two  children,  Tony  and 

Mary. 
Alberto,  F.  L.,  longshoreman. 
Albertson,  M. ,  wife  and  daughter. 
Albertson,  Emile. 
Anderson,  Henry. 
Albertson,  A. ,  wife  and  two  children. 
Alexander,  Annie  and  Christian,  children 

of  Thomas. 
AUardyce,  Mrs.  R.  L.  and  three  children. 
Allen,  W.  T. ,  wife,  daughter  and  one  son. 
Allen,  E.  B.,  and  wife. 
Allen,  .Mrs.  Kate. 

Allen,  Mrs.  Alex,  and  five  children  (colored). 
Allen,  Wm.,  wife  and  three  children,  Fifty- 
eighth  and  Qyi- 
Allen,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E. 
Allerson,  Edward,  shoemaker,  Twenty-sev- 
.         enth  and  Q>2> 
Allison,  S.  B.,  wife  and  six  children,  Thirty- 

Vifth  and  S>^. 
Almeras,    Mrs.    P.,   visiting  Oliver  Udell 

down  the  island. 
Almos,  Mrs.  P. 
Alplionse,  John,  wife  and  family,  with  one 

exception.  Forty-fourth  and  S. 
Alpin,  George  and  wife  (colored). 
Ammundsen,  Emil,  wife  and  child,  Lucas 

1  errace. 
■Anderson,  J.  W.,  wife  and  three  children. 
Anderson,  L. ,  and  wife,  Seventeenth  and  O. 


Anderson,  H.  E, 

Anderson,  Mrs.  Dora  and  child  Louise,  wifa 
of  C.  J.  Anderson,  901  Broadway. 

Anderson,  Ella,  daughter  of  John  Ander- 
son, between  Thirty-sixth  and  Thirty- 
seventh  on  PostoflBce ;  lost  down  the 
island. 

Anderson,  Ned,  wife  and  two  children. 

Anderson,  Ella,  Heard's  Lane,  shell  road. 

Anderson,  L.  (shoemaker)  and  wife. 

Anderson,  Oscar  wife  and  child. 

Anderson,  A.  G.,  wife  and  children. 

Anderson,  Amanda  (colored.) 

Anderson,  I\lrs.  Sam  (colored.) 

Anderson,  C.,  Anderson  ways.    Bay  Shore, 

Anderson,  Andrew,  wife  and  two  children. 

Anderson,  Nick,  and  sons  Henry  and  John. 

Anderson,  Mrs.  Carl  and  four  children, 
stockyards. 

Anderson,  Nels.,  shipbuilder,  Galveston 
island. 

Anderson,  Edward,  'longshoreman. 

Andre w^,  Mrs.  A.  and  family. 

Andre"ws,  Mrs.  A.  and  three  children. 

Andrews,  Mrs.,  on  the  Hisser  place,  Bay 
Shore. 

Andro,  Mrs.  and  three  children. 

Angily,  Mrs.  P. 

Anizan,  Mrs.  Frank  and  two  children.  La- 
marque,  Tex. 

Antonovich,  John  and  Pinkie,  3808  F}4' 

Antonovich,  Eddie. 

Aplin,  George  and  wife. 

Appel,  Fritz  and  son. 

Applin,  Mrs.  Lucy  and  four  children  (col- 
ored), L  and  Eleventh. 

Ardisson,  Mrs.  J.  and  eight  children. 

Armitage,  Miss  Vivian. 

Armour,  Mrs.  and  five  children. 

Armstrong-,  Mrs.  Dora,  wife  of  C.  F.,  and 
four  children. 

Artisan,  John,  wife  and  nine  children,  of 
Tliirty-ninth  and  S}i. 

Ashe,  George,  Jr, 

Ashley,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  C. 

517 


518 


NAMES   OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


Astheimer,    Betty,   Henrietta   Philip  and 

Frank. 
Atanasso. 

Augustine,  Pasquil  and  wife. 
Aull,  Nicholas  and  family  of  eight. 
Aull,  George  and  family  of  five. 
Aull,  Joseph  and  family  of  four. 
Aull,  Mary,  wife  of  Joseph  Aull. 
Azteana,  Captain  Sylvester  de. 


Badger,  Otto,  N,  between  Thirteenth  and 
Fourteenth. 

Bailey,  George,  wife  and  three  children. 

Baker,  Miss  Florence  (colored). 

Baker,  Mrs.  and  three  children  (colored), 
2828  avenue  P. 

Bald-win,  Miss  Sallie  (colored). 

Balliman,  Gussie,  3602  Q^. 

Balliman,  Irene,  3602  Q>^. 

Balliman,  John,  3602  QH- 

Balzman,  Mrs. 

Bammell,  Mrs. 

Bandus,  Mr.  and  family,  down  the  island. 

Bankers,  Mrs.  Charles. 

Barden,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  F. 

Barnard,  Mrs.  Mary  A.,  21 13  Thirty-third 
street. 

Barnes,  Mrs.  Louise  M.,  widow  of  William 
Barnes,  2003  Tremont  street. 

Barnesfki,  family  of  eight,  down  the  island. 

Barry,  Mrs.  James  and  six  children,  K,  be- 
tween Forty-second  and  Forty-third. 

Barry,  wife  and  six  children.  Forty-third 
and  K. 

Bass,  John,  wife  and  four  children  (colored). 

Batchelor,  Frank,  wife  and  four  children, 
Bennie,  Roy,  Lawrence  and  Harris  ;  lived 
at  Forty-first  and  S}4- 

Batja,  Otto,  Fifteenth  and  M. 

Batteste,  Horace,  aged  50,  Lucas  Terrace. 

Baurlot,  V.  C.  and  wife. 

Bausens,  wife  of  C.  J. 

Bautch,  William,  wife  and  two  children. 

Baxter,  Mrs.  and  child. 

Beall,  Mrs.  Dudley  and  child. 

Beaudoin,  Mrs.  and  two  children.  Twenty- 
eighth  and  P. 

Becker,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  F.,  and  two 
children. 

Bedford,  fisherman  (colored). 

Beekman,  Martha  Louise,  daughter  of  Ed. 
O.,  1906  Twenty-first  street. 

Belcher,  three  children  of  Mrs.  Marguerite. 

Bell,  Eugenia,  Alex.  C,  Beulah  and  Guy, 
1 8th  and  Q. 

Bell,  George. 

Bell,  Clarence. 

Bell,  Henry  (colored). 

Bell,  Mrs.  Mattie,  on  country  road. 

Bellew,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  F.,  and  daughter. 

Benn,  Mrs.  Annie  and  two  daughters. 


Bernardoni,  John,  Eighth  and  L. 

Benson,  Mrs.  Amanda  (colored). 

Benson,  Miss  Delphia  (colored). 

Benson,  Mrs.,  Seventeenth  ana  0}4- 

Benson,  Andrew,  longshoreman. 

Bernard,  Mrs.  . 

Berger,  W.  L.,  wife  and  child. 

Berger,  Theo.,  wife  and  child. 

Bergman,  Mrs.  R.  J.  and  little  daughter. 

Betts,  Walter. 

Betts,  Mrs.  Mattie,  lost  at  Giozza  residence. 

Beyer,  Mrs.  Lincey,  1109  Broadway. 

Beveridge,  Mrs.  J.  L.  and  two  children. 

Bierman,  Frederick,  S  and  Forty-third. 

Billigman,  Mrs.  Lizzette,  found  on  13th  and 
Broadway ;  resided  on  M  and  13th. 

Birge, ,  and  wife. 

Bird,  Mrs.,  and  child. 

Bird,  Mrs.  Joseph  and  five  children. 

Blackson,  baby  of  William. 

Blake,  cliild  of  F.  W.,  British  vice  consul, 
3206  avenue  Q. 

Bland,  Florence  (colored). 

Bland,  Mrs.,  and  seven  children  (colored). 

Block,  son  of  Charles. 

Blum,  Mrs.  J.,  Twenty-second  and  P. 

Blum,  Isaac,  Sarah  and  Jennie. 

Blum,  Mrs.  Sylvania. 

Boatw^right,  Mrs. 

Boddeker,  Austin,  son  of  Will  Boddeker; 
drowned  at  Arcadia. 

Boddeker,  Charles. 

Boedecker,  H.  C,  wife  and  two  children. 

Boedecker,  H.,  father,  brother  and  sister. 
Thirty-seventh  and  Q}4- 

Boening,  William,  wife  and  three  children, 
milkman,  down  the  island. 

Bogel,  Mrs.  H.,  and  children  Florence,  Mar- 
guerite and  Alma,  Fifty-second  and  P)4. 

Bohn,  Dixie. 

Bonner,  Mrs.,  avenue  S,  between  Thirty- 
sixth  and  Thirty- seventh. 

Borden,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  F. 

Bornkessel,  T.  C,  of  United  States  weather 
bureau,  and  wife. 

Boske,  Mrs.  Charles,  and  two  sons. 

Boss,  Cliarles  and  DetlefF. 

Boss,  Fred,  (colored). 

Boston,  Mrs.  Clara  (colored),  Eleventh  and 
M. 

Botsford,  Edwin  and  wife,  Kinskead  addi- 
tion. 

Bo^we,  Mrs.  John  and  four  children. 

Bowen,  Chas.  K.,  of  Half  Moon  lighthouse. 

Bo"wen,  Captain  Chas.  K. ,  daughter  and 
grandchild,  of  North  Galveston,  visiting 
at  Thirty-eighth  and  S. 

Bowie,  Mrs.  John,  and  two  children. 

Boyd,  Andy,  wife  and  four  children,  Buelah, 
Bessie,  George  and  Mabel,  Nineteenth 
and  P. 

Bradfleld,  Tom  and  wife,  down  the  island. 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


619 


Bradfoot,  and  wife,  seven  miles  down  the 

island.  » 

Bradly,  Miss  Nannie. 
Bradly,  Miss  Ethel. 
Brady,  and  wife,  Twenty -eighth  and 

Branch,  Allen  (colored),  Mrs.  Eva. 

Branch,  Miss  Pearl  G.  (colored),  Forty- 
fourth  and  S}4- 

Brandes,  Fritz,  wife  and  four  children, 
milkman,  down  the  island. 

Brandon,  Lottie,  Lamarque,  Tex. 

Bray,  Mary,  niece  of  Alex.  Coddou. 

Brentley  family. 

Briscoll,  A.,  (milkman)  and  family. 

Britton,  James  (colored),  Lamarque,  Tex. 

Brockelman,  C  J. 

Brockelman,  three  children  of  J.  T. 

Brocker,  Joe  and  family. 

Brooks,  J.  T. 

BrO"W"n,  Wm.,  Forty. third  and  R. 

Bro"WTi,  Adolph,  wife  and  two  children,  S 
and  Forty-third. 

Brown,  Mrs.  Gus.  (colored),  son  and  two 
grandchildren,  down  the  island. 

Brown,  Gus  (colored),  down  the  island. 

Brown,  Joseph  and  family. 

Brozis,  M.  G.,  wife  and  child,  Thirty-sev- 
enth and  S. 

Brunner,  Albert,  longshoreman. 

Bryan,  Mrs.  L.  W.,  and  daughter  Alice,  of 
South  McAlester,  I.  T.,  at  H.  C.  Ripley's 
house. 

Buckley,  Selma  and  Blanche,  and  their 
mother  and  father. 

Buckley,  Mrs.  S.  and  daughter. 

Bupen,  Marco,  wife  and  five  children,  down 
the  island. 

Biu-ge,  Wm.,  wife  and  child,  postmaster 
Heard's  postoffice. 

Burge,  S.  W.,  wife  and  two  children,  Twen- 
ty-fourth and  Beach. 

Biu-gess,  Mrs.  and  child. 

Burgoyne,  Francis,  Mrs.,  Twenty-eighth, 
between  Q  and  QK- 

Burgoyne,  Dugle,  Twenty-eighth,  between 
Q  and  QX. 

Burke,  J.  G.,  Thirty-seventh  and  Q. 

Burke,  Jessie  K.,  Mrs.,  Thirty-seventh  and  Q. 

Burnett,  baby  of  Mrs.  Annie  Burnett. 

Burnett,  Mrs.  George  and  child. 

Burns.  Mrs.  M.  E.  and  child,  Mary  E. 

Burns,  Mrs. 

Burns.  Mrs.  P.,  and  daughter,  Mary,  Kin- 
kead  addition. 

Burnett,  Mrs.  Mary,  P>^  and  Twenty-fourth. 

Burnett,  Mrs.  Gary,  and  two  children. 

Burrell,  Elvie,  and  two  children,  (colored). 

Burrell,  Mrs.  Gete,  (colored). 

Burrows,  Mrs. 

Burwell,  T.  M.,  1423  L. 

Buscher,  F,  and  wife. 


Bush,  Charles,  wife  and  three  children. 

Bush,  Hisom. 

Bush,    Mr.    Charles    and    daughter,    Mrs. 

Bettie  B.  Sawyer,  all  colored.  Fifty-sixth 

street,    between    Church    and  Winnie, 

across  the  mud  bridge. 
Butler,  Captain  Green,  Thirty-third  and  Q. 
Butterfield,  John. 
Butts,  C.  H.,  lost  from  barge. 
Bsnxian,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Geo.,  and  daughter, 

Mary,  Forty-fourth  and  S)4- 
Byrd,  Mrs.  J.  C.  and  child. 
Byrnes, ,  wife  and  sister. 

Cain,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  W.  (colored). 
Calhoun,  Mrs.  Thomas  and  three  children. 
Calvert,  George,  wife,  son  and  daughter, 

Thirty-second  and  Q>^. 
Campbell,  Miss  Edna,    Thirty-ninth    and 

T>^. 
Capers, ,  and  wife  ;  lived  at  south-east 

corner  of  Forty-second  and  S. 
Capps,  Chas.  C,  wife  and  six  children. 
Caroline,   Alice,   Elizabeth   and  one  son, 

Edmund,  two  grandchildren. 
Carou,  Mrs.  Jenne. 
Caribaldi,  August    and    family,   Sydnor's 

bayou. 
Carlson,  Charles,  wife  and  boy,  bay  bridge. 
Carren,    Mrs.   Eugenie    Souhet,    washer- 
woman at  the  Home  for  the  homeless. 
Carson,  Frank  C.  and  wife. 
Carter,    Betsy     (colored),     and    daughter 

Sophia. 
Carter,  Miss  Sophie. 
Carter,  Corrine  and  family. 
Carter,  Adeline. 
Carter,   Alf,  and  seven  children,  colored, 

down  the  island. 
Casley,  Sanders  (colored),   wife  Samantha 

and    children    Samantha    and    Walter, 

Twenty-ninth  and  P_^. 
Casey,  Mrs.  Amelia. 
Cazenave,  Jean  (milkman). 
Chaffey,  Mrs.  and  son. 
Chambers,  Ada  D.,  wife  of  J.  F.  Chambers, 

Fifty-seventh  and  M>^. 
Cheek,  Mrs.  Mary,  and  one  child. 
Chenivere,  Mrs.,  shell  road. 
Chester,  Frank,  Ellen  and  Mary  (colored). 
Chouke,  Mrs.  Chris  and  daughter,  Annie, 

down  the  island. 
Childs,  Wm.  and  wife. 
Childs,  J.  T. 
Chrestin,  Paul  and  wife.  Thirty-ninth  and 

Christian,   John    (night    engmeer    watet 

works)  and  wife. 
Christiansen,  Miss  Annie,  of  Shreveport. 

who  was  visiting  Geo.  Dorian. 
Clancy,  Pat,  wife  and  five  children,  down 

the  island. 


520 


NAMES  OP  THE  VICTIMS. 


Clancy,  Pat  (screwman),  wife  and  three 
children. 

Clark,  Billy,  Twenty-sixth  and  P. 

Clark,  Cy  (colored). 

Clark,  Thomas. 

Clark,  Mrs.  C.  T.,  and  child. 

Claude,  Joe  and  daughter,  Emily. 

Clausen,  Katie. 

Clear,  William  E.,  Twenty-sixth  and  P. 

4Z51eary,  Mrs.  Leon  and  one  child,  Virginia 
Point. 

Cleveland,  George,  wife  and  children, 
Ruth,  Roy  and  Senreta,  Twenty-seventh 

^        and  Q. 

Cline,  wife  of  Dr.  I.  M. 

Close,  J.  N.,  of  Chambersville,  Tex. 

Cobbe,  Archie,  wife  and  two  children 
(milkman),  five  miles  down  the  island. 

Coates,  Mrs.  Wm.  A. 

Cobbe,  Mrs.  Thomas  A.,  and  two  daughters, 
down  the  island. 

Ooddou,  Alex,  and  three  children,  Claude, 
Edward  and  Drouet. 

Coers,  Dr. 

Coleman,  Mandy  and  child,  Elfie  (colored). 

Collins,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ira's  baby  daughter. 

Colonge,  Rachel  and  four  children. 

Coltur,  Joseph,  longshoreman. 

Connolly,  Mrs.  Ellen. 

Colsburg,  Frank  G.,  wife  and  baby,  Forty- 
sixth  and  Broadway. 

Colson, . 

Conget,  Mrs.  (colored),  K,  between  Twelfth 
and  Thirteenth. 

Conner,  Captain  D.  E. 

Conner,  Edw.  J. 

Connett,  Mrs.  Wm.,  and  children,  down 
the  island. 

Connoll,  Mrs.  Louisa,  Miss  Rebecca,  Peter 
and  Jane  (colored),  Forty-third  and  T. 

Connett,  Charles,  wife  and  children,  Forty- 
third  and  S'/i. 

Cook,  Mrs.  Ida  (colored),  Forty-first  and 
avenue  U. 

Cook,  Henry  (colored),  3601  Q}4. 

Cook,  George. 

Cook,  Arthur. 

Cook,  Irene. 

Cook,  Ashby,  of  Atchison,  Kans. 

Cook,  W.  Scott,  wife  and  six  children, 
Ashby,  Edgar,  Walter,  Rex,  Gertrude 
and  Ella. 

Cooke,  Marston,  Forty-third  and  S. 

Corbett,  J.,  and  four  children,  John  Munro 
Lucas,  aged  8  years ;  Edna  May  Lucas, 
aged  6  years  11  months;  Arthur  Louis 
Lucas,  aged  5  years  4  months ;  Michael 
Henry  Corbett,  aged  4  months,  4510 
Avenue  K. 

Cornett,  Miss  Lillie,  Kinkead  addition. 

Cornell,  Mrs.  Peter,  two  daughters  and  son 
(colored). 


Cornett,  Mrs.  Eliza,  Forty-first  and  S 

Cornett,  Charles  and  wife. 

Cornett,  Miss  Lillie. 

Cort,  Cora  Virginia,  daughter  of  E.  L.  Cort, 

colored. 
Coryell,  Patti  Rosa. 
Costa,  A.,  Virginia  Point. 
Costly,  Sanders  and  wife,  and  child  of  Alex 

Costly  (colored). 
Co"wan,  wife  and  daughter,  Isabella,  Seventh 

and  Broadway. 

Co"wan, . 

Cox,  Lillie,  Susie,  Frances  and  John,  jr., 

children  of  J.  R.  Cox  of  Malvern,  Ark. 
Craig,  George. 
Crain,  Maggie  McCrea  (Mrs.  C.  D.),  aged 

37,   2818  F)4,   and  children,  Annie  M., 

aged  15,  and  Charles  D.,  aged  6. 
Cramer,  Miss  Bessie. 
Crawley,  May,  Lottie,  Dudie  and  Lee. 
Credo,  Will. 
Credo,  child  of  Anthony. 
Crisby,  Mrs.  Fred  and  three  children,  55th 

and  Broadway. 
Cromwell,  Mrs.  and  three  daughters. 
Crowley,  Miss  Nellie  and  brother. 
Cuneo,  Mrs.  Joseph  (from  New  Orleans,  vis- 
iting Mrs.  Webber). 
Cuney,  R.  C,  and  mother  (colored). 
Cimey,  grandma,  mother  of  Wright  Cuney 

(colored). 
Curry,  Mrs.  E.  H.  and  child. 
Curtis,  Mrs.  J.  C  (colored),  and  one  child. 
Curtis,  Lulda  (colored). 
Cushman,  Jeanette,  Arthur. 
Cushman,  John  Henry  (stepson  of  Oliver 

Udell.) 


"  Dago  Joe  "  and  wife,  Mary,  Kinkead  addi- 
tion. 

Dahlgren,  A.  G.,  longshoreman. 

Dailey,  Wm.  E. 

Daley,  Nicholas  J. 

Darley,  John,  wife  and  daughter  Belle. 

Darnell,  W.  D.,  and  wife  (colored). 

Darby,  Charles. 

Davenport,  Wharton,  jr.,  Rebecca  Harris 
and  John  Harris,  children  of  Wharton 
and  Cora  Harris  Davenport,  avenue  R 
and  Fortieth. 

Davies,  John  R.  and  wife. 

Davis,  Mrs.  Robert  and  child,  P}4  and 
Thirty-third. 

Davis,  Mrs.  Ed.  and  three  daughters,  Six- 
teenth and  avenue  O. 

Davis,  sr.,  Henry  T.  (colored). 

Davis,  Irene,  3507  Q. 

Davis,  Mrs.  and  daughter  Grace. 

Davis,  Mrs.  T.  F. 

Davis,  Mrs.  Alice  W.,  and  family,  eight  in 
all.  Sixteenth  and  O. 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


521 


Davis,  IVliss  Annie  N.,  eldest  daughter  of 
Rhoda  Milby  Davis  and  the  late  Samuel 
Boyer  Davis,  trained  nurse  Sealy  hos- 
pital. 
Davis,  Gussie. 

Davis,  Mrs.  Mary,  colored,  2017  N. 
Day,  Mrs.  Ellen  and  daughter,  Miss  May; 

lived  at  Twenty-sixth  and  F}^. 
Day,  Willie  (colored),  Seventeenth,  between 

M}4  and  N. 
Day,  Alfred  (colored). 

Day,  Miss  Mamie. 

Day,  Mrs.  Maggie. 

Dazet,  Mrs,  Leon,  and  child. 

Dean,  child  of  R.  F. 

Deason,  Mrs.  Mary  and  son,  Ed.  JeflFerson. 

Decie,  Henry,  family  and  mother. 

Decie,  Dick  and  family. 

Decker,  Alphonso,  longshoreman. 

Deegan,  Paddy. 

Deering,  W.  A.,  wife  and  six  children. 

Deering',  John,  wife  and  six  children,  Forty- 
third  and  U. 

De  Herete,  Miss  Leonie,  M,  between  Twenty- 
fifth  and  Twenty-sixth. 

Deboer,  P.  C,  and  wife. 

Delaney,  Mrs.  Jack  and  two  children. 

Delaney,  Joe. 

Delano,  Asa  P.,  wife  and  children. 

Delaya,  Paul  and  two  daughters. 

Delz,    M. ,    and  son    Lenis,    Thirty-seventh 
and  M. 

Dempsey,  Mrs.  and  two  children. 

Dempsey,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert. 

Derr,  Gus,  longshoreman. 

Devoti,  Joe  and  three  children,  Heard's  lane. 

Devoti,  Mrs.  Julia  and  two  children. 

Devoti,  Louis,  Colorado  addition. 

Devoti,  "Doc,"  Kinkead  addition. 

Dickson,  Mrs.  Louisa  and  three  children, 
Eighteenth  and  P. 

Dickinson,  Mrs.  Mary  and  child  (colored), 
Twenty-eighth  and  R. 

Diesing,  Mary. 

Diggs,   Henry,  wife  and  four  children  (col- 
ored). 

Dinsdale,  Thomas,  wife  and  three  children. 

Dinter,  Mrs.  and  daughter. 

Dirks,  Henry  and  family. 

Dittraan,  Mrs.  F.  and  son. 

Dixon,  Mrs.  Tom  and  three  children. 

Doherty,  Mrs.  G.  P.,  2416  Q 'A. 

Dohonue,  Misses  Ellen  and  Mary,  of  Utica, 
N.  Y. 

Doll,  George  W.  and  wife,  Eliza. 

Doll,  Frank  and  family. 

Donnell,  W.  D. ,  wife  and  one  child.     A  son, 
aged  13  years,  saved. 

Dool,  Mrs.  C.  C,  i6th  and  A. 

Dore, ,  an  old  Frenchman. 

Dorian,  George,  jr.,  wife  and  two  children. 

Dorian,  Mrs.  George  and  five  children. 


Dorrene,  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  and  two  daughters 

Dorsett,  B.  and  family  ol  five,  Lamarque, 
Tex. 

Dorsey,  Fannie. 

Doto,  INIarcus,  wife  and  six  children. 

Doty,  Jonathan,  F}i  and  Twenty-fifth. 

Do'wles,  Mrs.  Sam  and  daughter,  Nora. 

Doyle,  Jim. 

Dreckschraidt,  H. 

Dreht,  Lottie. 

Drewa,  H .  A. 

Driscoll,  T.  E.,  Thirtieth  and  Q. 

Duane,  Miss  Mary  Coleman,  ofvictoria. 

Duffard,  A. ,  county  bridge  keeper. 

Ducos,  Octavia  and  Madeline. 

Duebner,  William  and  wife  and  three  chil- 
dren, stockpens. 

Duett,  Miss  Maria,  old  woman's  home. 

Duflfy,  Mrs.  (Mrs.  W.  Jones'  sister),  down 
the  island. 

Dunham,  George  R.,  sr.,  and  wife. 

Dunham,  George  R.,  jr.,  and  two  children. 

Dunham,  Mrs.  Howard  C.  and  three  chil- 
dren. 

Dunant,  Frank,  sr. 

Dumond,  Joseph,  and  wife  (stock  yards). 

Dunton,  Mrs.  Adelina. 

Dunkins,  Mrs.  Mahaly  (colored).  Twenty- 
seventh  and  P. 

Dunningham,  Richard,  Tenth  and  L. 

Durrant,  Frank,  on  Sidney  bayou. 

Dutoniovich,  John  and  Pinkey. 

Dykes,  Thomas  J.,  jr.  (colored). 

Earls,  Mrs.  Lizzie  (colored). 

Eaton,   F.  B.,  Forty-fifth,    between   I   and 

Broadway. 
Eberhard,  P.  and  wife. 
Eberg,  Mrs.  Kate,  Kinkead  addition. 
Eckart,  Will,  wife  and  daughter. 
Ecket,  William,  wife  and  son. 
Eckett,  Charles  and  Fred. 
Eckert,  Ed  and  family,  Sydnor's  bayou. 
Edmonds,  Mrs. 
Edmondson,  L  E. 
Edwards,  A.  R.  G.  and  six  children. 
Edwards,  Jim,  wife  and  family. 
Edwards,  Miss  Eliza. 
Edwards,  Mrs.  Jane  and  youngest  daughter 

(colored),   R.  between  Twenty-seventh 

and  Twenty-eighth. 
Edwards,   Henr^',  wife  and  five  children, 

Kincaid  addition. 
Eggert,  Fred  and  father. 
Eggert,  \Villiam  and  son  Charles. 
Ehlert,  Mrs.  and  two  daughters. 
Ehlert,  Mrs.  and  two  daughters,  down  the 

island. 
Ellis,   Mrs.  John  and  three  children,  down 

the  island. 
Ellis,  Mrs.  (colored),  down  the  island. 
Eichler,  Edward. 


522 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS 


Eichler,  Mrs.  A. 

Eichler,  Otto. 

Eichler,  Charley. 

Eichler,  Albert. 

Eisman,  Paul,  wife  and  baby. 

Eismann,  Howard. 

Ellis,  Mrs.  Henrietta  (colored).  Twenty- 
eighth  and  R. 

Ellis,  Lewis  (colored),  down  the  island. 

Ellis,  John  and  family  of  four,  Forty-third 
and  T. 

EUis,  Mrs.  and  family. 

Ellisor,  two  children  of  Captain  Will. 

Ello,  Mrs.  Jos.,  3624  R}4' 

EUo,  Joseph,  wife  and  two  children. 

Ellsworth,  John,  Sixteenth  and  N}4. 

Englehardt,  Louis  (butcher). 

Eng-lehart,  Mrs.  Ludwig,  2024  P. 

Eng-lehart,  G.  C. 

Engelke,  John,  wife  and  child. 

English,  John,  wife  and  child. 

Emanuel,  Joe. 

Eppendorf,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

Evans,  Mrs.  Katy  and  two  daughters. 

Everhart,  J-  H. 

Everhart,  Mrs.  J.  H. 

Everhart,  Miss  Lena. 

Everhart,  Guy. 


Fabj,  Sumpter, 

Fachan,  Joe,  family  of. 

Fag-g-an,  Frank,  avenue  H,  between  Forty- 
third  and  Forty-fourth. 

Fages,  Mrs.  Frances,  down  the  island. 

Falca,J.  A.  C 

Falk,  Mrs.  Julius,  and  five  children,  Forty- 
third  and  S. 

Falk,  Gustave,  Forty-third  and  S. 

Falke.  Joseph,  and  three  children. 

Falke,  Hy. 

Falkenhaken,  Mr.  and.  Mrs.  George,  Thir- 
teenth and  M)4. 

Fallan,  Ollie. 

Farley,  Mr.  Thomas  P.  and  wife. 

Fawcett,  Miss  Isabella. 

Fa^vcett,  Robert. 

Feco,  Joseph. 

Feigle,  John,  sr.,  and  wife,  Caroline. 

Feigle,  John,  jr.,  and  daughters,  Mabel  and 
Georgie. 

Feigle,  Martin. 

Fellman,  John,  gardiner  for  Wm.  Miller. 

Felfs,  Lewis,  down  the  island. 

Felsmann,  Richard  (blacksmith),  wife  and 
five  children,  Forty-sixth  and  Broad- 
way. 

Ferre,  B. 

Ferwerder,  Peter,  life-saving  station. 

Fickett,  Mrs.  Anita  and  four  children. 

Filhol,  Mrs.  Mary  and  three  children,  OfTat's 
bayou. 


Figge,  Mrs.  and  four  children. 

Fischer,  Lydia. 

Fisher,  Walter  Pemberton  and  wife,  Lillie 
Harris  Fisher,  and  children,  John  Harris, 
Walter  Pemberton,  jr.,  and  Annie  Pleas- 
ants, avenue  R  and  Forty-first. 

Fisher,  Katie,  2616  Q. 

Fisher,  Jessie  and  Charlie,  lost  in  Catholic 
orphan  home. 

Fisher,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  (colored),  Houston. 

Fishermen,  about  ten  Italian-Americans. 

Flake,  Fritz  (sausage  peddler. ) 

Flanagan,  Mrs.  Martin  and  child. 

Flanagan,  wife  and  child,  Thirty-ninth 
and  K. 

Flash,  Wm. 

Flash,  Francis. 

Fleming,  A.  B.,  factory  district. 

Floehr,  Mrs. 

Fonaain,  Mrs.  and  five  children. 

Ford,  Emma  (colored),  Twenty-sixth  and  P. 

Pordtran,  Mrs.  Claude  G.,  Tremont  and  P'^. 

Foreman,  Mrs.  Mamie. 

Foreman,  Cassie. 

Foreman,  Thomas. 

Foreman,  Amos. 

Foreman,  Webster. 

Forget,  Julius. 

Foster,  Mrs. 

Foster,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harry  and  three 
children. 

Foulkes,  Wm.,  Mrs.  Viola  and  Miss  Lena, 
2620  P}4. 

Fox,  Thomas,  wife  and  four  children,  Forty 
fourth  and  S. 

Francis,  Mrs.  Maggie  and  child,  Kinkead 
addition. 

Frank,  Miss  Anna,  Seventeenth  and  M)4. 

Franks,  Mrs.  and  daughter. 

Franck,  Mrs.  Augusta. 

Franklin,  Geo.,  1024  A. 

Frankovich,  John  and  clerk. 

Friedolf, ,  wife  and  son. 

Fredericks,  Corine. 

Frederickson,  Mrs.  C,  V}4,  between 
Eighteenth  and  Nineteenth. 

Fredrickson,  Viola. 

Fredrickson,  Mrs.  and  baby. 

Freytag,    Fred.,  wife    and    two    children, 

1305  uy^.  _ 

Fries  and  family.  Baker  Head's  Lane. 
Priess,  Charles,  wife  and  child. 
Freitag,  Harry. 
Freither,  Mrs.  Fritz. 

Fritz,  wife  and  two  children,  an  oysterman 
Frohne,  Mrs.  Charles  and  two  children. 
Frontenac,  Michael,  longshoreman. 
Frostman,  Mrs.  Ed.  and  four  children. 
Fryer,  Mrs.  W.  H. 
Fryer,  Bessie  Belle. 
Fugh,  John. 
Fuller,  R.  H. 


NAMES  OF   THE  VICTIMS. 


523 


Furman,  Mrs.  (colored),  K,  between  Elev- 
enth and  Twelfth, 
Furst,  family  of. 


Gago,  Joe. 

G-abel,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  (colored). 

G-aribaldi,  G.  and  wife,  Virginia  Point 

Gabriel,  John  and  Dodo. 

Gairnes,  Mrs.  Lillie  J.  and  two  daughters, 
Sixty-first  and  R. 

Gaissaffi,  J. 

Gallishaw,  five  children  of  the  late  Jim 
Gallishaw. 

Gamblln,  Fred.,  N  and  F)4. 

Garnett,  Robert  F.,  son  of  R.  B. 

Garrigan,  Jim,  down  the  island. 

Garrigan,  Joseph. 

Gartner,  Joseph,  longshoremaa 

Garth,  A.  E. 

Garth,  Mrs.  A.  E. 

Garth,  Bertha. 

Garth,  Nunie. 

Garth,  Gussie. 

Gecan,  Mat. 

Gehrer,  Geo.,  wife  and  children. 

Gent,  Robert,  wife  and  child. 

Genter,  Robert,  (butcher). 

Gensen,  four  children  of  F.,  1718O. 

Geoppinger,  Leopold. 

George,  first  sergeant  battery  O. 

George,  Charles  and  wife. 

Gernaud,  Mrs.  John  H.  and  three  children. 

Gernaud,  Mrs.  Viola  and  child,  Kate.Falks, 
P^,  between  Twenty-sixth  and  Twenty- 
seventh. 

Gerloff,  Adolph. 

GerlofF,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William. 

Gerloff,  Mrs.  Emil  and  two  children. 

Gerloff,  Mrs.  C.  F. 

Gibbs,  Thomas  B.,  wife  and  four  children, 
2018  P}4. 

Gibson,  Miss  Mary,  Fortieth  and  S. 

Gibson,  Miss  Daisy  (colored). 

Gibson,'  Miss  Mary  C,  Forty-first  and  S. 

Gill,   Catherine,  Sarah  and  Harry. 

Gillis,  Dan,  Twelfth  and  M. 

Giorgio,  M. 

Giozza,  Mrs.  Amelia,  Anthony,  Ross,  Theo- 
dore, Virginia  and  Julia,  lost  in  collapse 
of  Giozza  residence. 

Giusti,  Adiace. 

Glass, -Ukrs.  Wm.  D.,  and  four  children. 

Glausen,  Charles,  and  family  of  four. 

Gluger,  E.  wife  and  four  children,  4428 
Broadway. 

Goldbeck,  Mrs.  E.  and  child,  Alfred  Gold- 
beck,  of  San  Antonio. 

GDldmann,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Theodore  and 
son.  Will. 

Good^vin,  two  girls  of  Mrs.,  Seventeenth 
between  U'A  and  N. 


Gonzales,    Andrew,  wife    and   daughter, 

3428  Q. 
Gollraer,  H.  H. ,  wife  and  five  children. 
Gordon,  Mrs.  Abe  and  three  children. 
Gordon,  Miss 
Gordon,  Oscar. 
Gordon,  Asker  and  baby.^ 
Gould,  Loue  la  and  Charlie. 
Gould,  Duell  and  Charles,  children  of  Thos. 

Geo.  Gould. 
Graft,  Mrs.  George,  and  three  children. 
Granberg,     Alex.,    Twenty-seventh     and , 

Strand. 
Grant,  Fred  H.  (colored). 
Grant,  Mamie  E.  (colored). 
Graus,  wife  and   two   children,   down  the 

island. 

Gray, ,  painter,  and  four  children. 

Green,  Mrs.  Lucy  (colored). 

Greene,  E.  C,  wife  and  daughter,  R>^  and 

Thirty-second. 
Greve,  Mrs.  ].,  and  daughter  Louise. 
Greve,  Mrs.  Ed.,  and  daughters  Gertrude 

and  Eveline. 
Grey,  R.  L.,  and  five  children,  Hugh,  Cecil, 

James,  Agnes  and  Lulu. 
Grief,  John,  wife    and    three  children    ol 

John. 
,   Grace,  cook  for  Mrs.  V.  C  Hart, 

1624    M^yi. 

Grisaffi,  Joe,  wife  and  two  children. 

Groom,  Ed.,  and  wife. 

Grothgar,  Mrs.  Fred,  and  four  children. 

Grosskoff,  Mrs.,  13th  and  M. 

Gruetzmacher,  Louis  and  family,  Thirty- 
eighth  and  S)4' 

Guest,  Mamie. 

Gustason,  Gus  (Denver  resurvey). 

Germing,  Tim  and  wife. 

Guy,  Henry,  down  the  island. 

Grumberg,  Alex.,  supposed  to  belong  to 
life-saving  station. 

Haag,  three  children  of  Mrs.  Annie  Burgess 

Haag. 
Haarar,  Martin,  wife  and  child. 
Hagens,  George,  longshoreman,  and  wite. 
Haines,  wife  of  Captain  Ed.  Haines. 
Hall,  Mrs.  (colored),  15th  and  N,  died  day 

after  flood. 
Hall,  Charles  (colored). 
Hall,  Melva  and  Eldred. 
Hall,  Joe  and  family  (colored),  R,  between 

Twenty-seventh  and  Twenty-eighth. 
Halm,  Frieda,  Tiiirty-sixth  and  Syi- 
Hance,  Mrs.  Emma  and  daughter,  nine  mile 

post,  down  the  island. 
Hanemann,  Mrs.,  down  the  island. 
Hansen,  Dick,  wife  and  three  children. 
Hanson,  J.  C.  H.,  longshoreman. 
Harold,  Laura  or  Lula.  Xwenty-seventh  and 

Church. 


524 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


Harris,  Lewis,  2310  avenue  Q. 

Harris,  Mrs.  Jane  (colored),  Twenty-eiglith 
and  R. 

Harris,  Thosnian,  wife  and  three  children. 

Harris,  George  and  wife  (colored). 

Harris,  Mrs.  Emma,  Fred  and  Robert,  4510 
Broadway. 

Harris,  Mrs.,  four  miles  down  the  island. 

Harris,  Minnie. 

Harris,  Effie  (colored). 

Harris,  L. 

Harris,  Mrs.  John  and  three  children. 

Harris,  Rebecca  Perry,  R  and  Forty-first. 

Harris,  wife  and  four  children  of  John  Har- 
ris, milkman,  down  the  island. 

Harris,  George  and  family  (firemank 

Harris,  Thomas,  wife  and  tnree  cnfidren. 

Harris,  Robert,  wife  and  one  child. 

Harris,  George,  Forty-sixth  and  Broadway. 

Harris,  Mrs.  (colored). 

Harrison,  Tom  and  wife  (colored). 

Hart,  Thomas  Leo,  son  of  Mrs.  Pauline 
Hart,  Thirty-ninth  and  T^. 

Harvey,  wife  and  child.  Forty-second  and 
M. 

Haslers,  Charles,  wife  and  child. 

Haucis,  Mrs.,  one  child,  nine  miles  down 
the  island. 

Haughton,  Mrs.  W.  W. 

Hauser,  Lewis. 

Hauser,  H.  and  wife. 

Hausinger,  Mr.  H.  A.,  daughter  and  mother- 
in-law. 

Hawkins,  INIrs.  Mary  Lee,  Tenth  and  Win- 
nie. 

Hayes,  child  of  Mrs.  Era,  of  Taylor,  Tex. 

Haymann,  Mrs.  John  A.,  and  five  children, 
Kinivead  addition. 

Haynes,  Miss  L.  (colored),  servant  of  D.  G. 
Chum. 

Hear,  L.,  wife  and  twelve  children,  down  the 
island. 

Heckler,  Charles  (white  painter). 

Hefty,  Rudolph,  Thirty-seventh  and  S. 

Hegmann,  E.  D.,  sr.,  wife  and  children, 
Albert,  Emma  and  E.  D.,  jr,.  seven  miles 
down  island. 

Heideman,  Wm.,  Jr. 

Heinroth,  Annie,  3610  K, 

Heinroth.  H.  and  three  children. 

Heiman,  Anton  (ex  alderman),  wife  and 
three  children. 

Helfenstein,  Jr.,  John  (child).  Fifty-eighth 
and  Postoffice  streets. 

Helfenstein,  Sophie  and  Lily,  children  of  W. 

Henbach,  Charles  F.,  and  son. 

Hening,  A.  B.,  Factory  district. 

Hennesey,  Mrs.  M.  P. 

Henry,  child  of  Officer  D.  VV.  Henry. 

Hermann,  W.  J.,  3714  S'/i. 

Herman,  Mrs.  and  five  children. 

Herman,  Martin  and  two  children. 


Hermann,  Mrs.  R.  M.  and  child,  Heard's 

lane.  Shell  road. 
Herres,  John  and  A. 
Hersey,  Mrs.  John. 
Hess,  Aug.  and   family,  Thirty-eighth  and 

P>^. 
Hess,  bugler,  battery  O. 
Hess,  Rtiss  Irene. 
Hester,  Charlie. 

Heuss,  G.  August,  wife  and  three  children. 
Heydown,  W.  and  wife,  R,  between  Thirty- 
fourth  and  Thirty-fifth. 
Higgins,  Mrs. 
High,  J.  B.,  and  wife. 
Hilgenbug,  Jacob,  wife  and  baby. 
Hill,  Mrs.  Ben  and  two  children. 
Hoarer,  Martin,  wife  and  son. 
Hodge,  George,  wife  and  son  (colored), 
Hodge,  Mrs.  Williams  (colored). 
Hodge,  Henrietta. 
Hodge,  Georgie. 
Hodge,  James. 
Hodge,  Gertrude. 
Hodge,  Clarence. 
Hoch,  Mrs.  and  three  sons,  Mike,  Willie  and 

Louis. 
Hoffman,  Mrs.  Pauline,  Houston,  nurse. 
Hoffman,  family. 
Hoffman,  Harry  H. 
Hoffman,  Miss  Augusta. 
Hoisington,  J.  A.  (missing). 
Holbeck,  Mrs.  L.  L. 
Holland,  James  H  ,  wife  and  son  Willie,  and 

grandson  James  Otis. 
Holland  (colored),  M)4,  between  Fourteenth 

and  Fifteenth. 
Holland,  Mrs.  James. 
Holmberg,  John,  wife  and  three  children, 

Forty-fourth  and  T. 
Holms,  Mrs.  Emma  (colored),  2828  avenue  P. 
Holmes,  child  of  Laura  (colored). 
Holmes,  Florence  (colored). 
Homburg,  Joe,  wife  and  four  children,  Kin- 

kead  addition. 
Homburg,   Mrs.    Peter  and  four  children, 

3528  R. 
Homburg,  William,  wife  and  two  children. 
Hood,  Bessie  (colored). 
Hoskins,  Mrs.   Helen,  Twenty-eighth  and 

Hoskins,  T.   D.,  wife  and  three  children 

(colored). 
Ho'we,  Adolph,  wife  and  five  children. 
Howell,  Sidney,  longshoreman. 
Howell,  Mrs.  Addeline,  2824  avenue  P. 
Howke,  Mrs.  and  four  sons. 
How^th,  Mrs.  Clarence. 
Howth,  Miss. 
Hubner,  Edward  and  Antoinette,  Twenty- 

first  and  P. 
Hubach,  Charles. 
Hubbell,  Misses  Emma  and  Maggie. 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


525 


Hudson,  Mrs. 

Huebner,  Mrs.  A.  F. 

Huebner,  Earl. 

Huess,  A.,  wife  and  children. 

Hughes,  Mrs.  Mattie. 

Hughes,  Stuart  G. 

Hughes,  Robert  (colored). 

Hughes,   Mrs.  M.   W.   (colored),  Twenty- 

iiintli  and  Thirtieth,  between  L  and  M. 
Huhn,  Mr.  F. 
Hulbert,  Mrs.  Victoria,  Miss  Minnie,  Walter 

and  Hallie  (all  colored),  Forty-first  and  U. 
Hull,  Willie  (colored),   Twenty-eighth  and 

Hull,  Charlie  (colored,  Twenty-eighth  and 

Hume,  Stephen  (colored). 

Humburg,  Ed.  (milkman),  down  the  island. 

Humbiu'g,  Mamie, 

Hunter,  Geo.,  and  two  children,  island. 

Hunter,  Mrs.  Alice,  and  brother  and  father 

and  three  children. 
Hurt,  Walter,  wife  and  two  children,  their 

German  cook  and  half  grown  boy. 
Huzza,  Charles,  wife  and  five  children. 
Hylenberg,  Jacob,  wife  and  child,  N  and 

Seventeenth. 

lovey:  Mrs.  C.  (colored),  worked  at  beach. 

Iresco,  James,  east  end. 

Irvin,  child  of  Wm.  H. 

Ir"wln,  wife  and  two  sisters  of  Will. 

Iwan,  Mrs.  A, 

Jack,  Mrs.  Pearl  A.,  and  two  daughters. 
Forty-second  and  R. 

Jackman,  Ada,  and  two  children. 

Jackson,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  and  daughter, 
Mabel,  Forty-third  and  S}i. 

Jackson,  Sarah  M.,  between  Twenty-sixth 
and  Twenty-seventh. 

Jacobs,  H..  wife  and  children. 

Jaeger,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  and  three  children, 
Oyi  between  Twenty-eighth  and  Twen- 
ty-ninth. 

Jaeger,  Wm.  H,,  Tenth  and  Broadway. 

Jaeger,  John  and  wife,  Eighth  and  Winnie. 

Jaeger,  H   W. 

Jaenicke,  Mrs.  Curt,  and  three  children. 

Jackson,  J.  W.,  Mrs.,  and  two  children, 
Forty-sixth  and  K. 

Jalonick,  Ed.,  wife  and  two  children,  all  of 
Dallas. 

Jasper,  two  children  of  Perry  (colored). 

Jay,  William  (missing). 

Jay,  son  of  J  P.,  down  the  island. 

JefFerbrock,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  August,  and 
child. 

Je"well,  J.,  wife  and  four  children  and  mo- 
ther-in-law (milkman),  down  the  island. 

John,  Henry  V.,  working  for  E.  Allen, 
Forty-third  and  S. 


Johnson,  T.  D.,  longshoreman 
Johnson,  Christopher,  lived  at  1918  P>^. 
Johnson,  Lorand,  wife  and  four  children, 

Forty-third  and  S. 
Johnson,  Sydney,  child  of  R.  H.  Johnson. 
Johnson,  A. ,  and  wife,  Edith  Grey  Johnson- 
Johnson,  Mrs.  C.  S.,  1715  N}4. 
Johnson,  child  of  J.  F.  Johnson,  1715  N)4. 
Johnson,  Richard  (colored). 
Johnson,  Mrs.  Wm. 
Johnson,  Adin,  wife  and  son. 
Johnson,    Peter,  wife    and    five    children, 

(milkman),  down  the  island. 
Johnson,  Mrs.  P.,  and  child. 
Johnson,  Julian. 

Johnson,  R.  D. ,  wife  and  two  children. 
Johnson,  one  child  of  Billy. 
Johnson,  Mrs.  Genevieve  W.,  and  daughter, 

Forty-fifth  and  K. 
Johnson,  W.  J.,  wife  and  two  children. 
Johnson,  Mrs.  Ben,  and  two  children. 
Johnson,  Oakey;  wife,  child  and  mother-in« 

law. 
Johnson,  Mrs.  H.  B.,  and  child. 
Johnson,  A.  S.,  (screwman),  wife  and  six 

children. 
Johnson,  Miss  Mary,  2113  Thirty-third  st. 
Johnson,  Dan  (colored)  Thirty-eighth  and 

T. 
Johnston,  Mrs.  Clara,  wife  of  Bernard,  and 

two  children,  Thirty-second  and  K. 
Johnston,  Mrs.  H.  P. 
Johnston,  Harry  P.  and  wife,  Minnie,  and 

baby  boy.  Ninth  and  I. 
Johnston,  J.   Bernard,  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren, avenue  R,  between  Thirty-second 

and  Thirty-third. 
•  Johnston,  Mrs.  Alice  R.,  Twelfth  and  M}i. 
Jones,  Mrs.  W.  D.,  3020  Q. 
Jones,  Katie  (colored),  servant  of  Rev.  H. 

C.  Dunham,  1021  avenue  I. 
Jones,  Mary,  Sarah,  Annie  and  Lizzie. 
Jones,  Jackson  (colored). 
Jones,  John  A.,  and  wife,  Twenty-first  and 

Jones,  J.  H.,  and  wife. 

Jones,  Frank,  son  of  Fred  (colored). 

Jones,  Mrs.  W.  R.  and  child. 

Jones,  Robert. 

Jones,  Fred  and  wife  (colored). 

Jones,  Walter.    Mrs.,    and   two    children, 

down  the  island. 
Jones,  Mabel,    adopted  daughter  of  Mrs. 

Ella  Roach,  Thirty-ninth  and  QK. 
Jones,  Mrs.  Matilda  W.,  and  daughter  Mary 
Jones,  Sallie  (colored),  1715  N>i. 
Jones,  Ernest,  Fortieth  and  R><. 
Jones,   Evan,  and  four  children,  Fortieth 

and  R'^. 
Jones,  William,  sr..  Fortieth  and  Rl4. 
Jones,  Dora  (colored),  servant  of  James 

Irwin- 


520 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


Jordan,  Charles  A. 

Joughin,  Tony,  former  drummer  in  the 
Immune  regiment. 

Jouguin,  Tony,  jr.,  boatman,  found  at  Eng- 
lish bayou. 

Joyce,  Mrs.  E.  'and  four  children,  Forty- 
fourth  and  S. 

Juffs,  Ben.,  wife  and  four  children,  1S17  0}4. 

Junemann,  Charles,  wife  and  daughter. 

Junka,  Martha,  daughter  of  W.  P. 

Junka,  Mrs.  Pauline. 

Junker,  William,  wife  and  child. 

Junker,  Mrs.  Collins. 

Justinus,  Hammond,  wife  and  five  children, 
and  Mrs.  Colbert,  mother  of  Mrs.  Jus- 
tinus, Twenty-seventh  and  Q. 

Kaiser,  Louis,  wife  and  three  children, 
Forty-third  and  S)4. 

Kaper,  August,  wife  and  one  child,  Forty- 
second  and  S. 

KaufPman,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  Tenth  and  M. 

Kauffman,  Mrs.  Chas. 

Kauffman,  Mr.  Henry. 

Kauffman,  baby  Margaret. 

Keates,  Thomas  and  wife. 

Keates,  Miss  Tillie,  Thirty-eighth  and  T. 

Keeton,  Mrs.  J.  O.  and  three  children. 

"5^ehler,  Mrs.  Fred,  two  girls  and  boy. 

Keis,  Mrs.  John. 

Keis,  Miss  Jodie. 

Keis,  Mrs.  Louisa  and  four  children. 

Keiffer,  wife  and  daughter. 

Keller,  Barney  J.,  wife  and  four  children, 
2401  Thirty-seventh  street. 

Kelley,  Thos.,  wife,  three  children  and  niece. 

Kelley,  Dan.,  sr. 

Kelner,  Charles  L.,  sr., 

Kelly,  Florence. 

Kelly,  Barney. 

KeUy,  Willie. 

Kelly, ,  wife  and  three  children. 

Kelly,  Mike. 

Kelso,  Munson  J.,  jr. 

Kelso,  Roy,  baby  boy  of  J.  C.  Kelso. 

Kelsy,  James. 

Kemp,  Thomas  W.  and  wife,  4205  S. 

Kemp,  Elizabeth,  and  son  Samuel  (colored), 
*■     down  the  island. 

Kemp,  John  W.,  florist,  Forty-second  and  S. 

Kemp,  W.  C.  and  wife. 

Kennely,  Mrs.  Annie, 

Kennedy,  Benton,  wife  and  three  children, 
Thirty-seventh  and  R. 

Kaaip,  Pearlie  (colored),  down  the  island. 

Keough,  John;  wife  and  four  children,  island. 

Keogh,  Mrs.  and  three  children,  Kinkead 
addition. 

Kessler,  Joseph. 

Kessler,  Frederick  and  daughter. 

Kessler,  Aug. 

Kessler,  Emma. 


Kessler,  Gussie. 

Kessner,  August  and  children,  Gussie  and 
Emma,  Kinkead  addition. 

Killcoer,  E.,  wife  and  children. 

Kimley,  Mrs.  John  and  family,  Pooleville. 

Kindle,  I.  M.,  and  family. 

Kindsfather,  Joseph,  wife  and  tnree  chil- 
dren. Forty-sixth  and  K. 

King,  Mrs.  (colored). 

King,  Rosa  J.  (colored). 

Kindlund,  Ejnar. 

Kirby,  James,  (section  foreman)  and  three 
men. 

Kirby,  Mrs.  George  and  two  children. 

Kirby,  Mrs.  J.  H.  and  three  children. 

Kissinger,  Mrs.  M.  J.,  Eleventh  and  M. 

Klein,  Ed.,  wife  and  two  children,  nine 
miles  down  the  island. 

Klein,  Mrs,  E.  V. 

Kleinecke,  Mrs.  H.  and  children,  except 
Hermann,  Fifty-seventh  and  T. 

Kleinecke,  Mrs.,  H.  and  Thirth-eighth. 

Kleinemer,  Mrs.  Herman  and  six  children. 
Galveston  Island. 

Kleiman,  Joe,  wife,  child  and  two  work- 
men, milkman,  down  the  island. 

Kleiman,  Mrs.  John  and  child. 

Kleimann,  wife  and  eight  children  of  H. 

Klinemann,  John,  wife  and  one  child,  a 
milkman  and  three  hired  men. 

Kno"W"les,  Mrs.  W.  T.  and  three  children. 

Koch,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  M,  between  Ninth 
and  Tenth. 

Koch,  Wm.,  sr.,  Tenth  and  Eleventh  on 
Broadway. 

Kolb,  A.  J.,  wife  and  child. 

Kolb,  infant  of  C.  L. 

Konstanstopulo,  Thriandefel,  Twenty- 
fourth  and  Beach  (candy  stand  near 
Olympia). 

Kothe,  Wm.,  Q,  between  Twenty-fiftb  and 
Twenty-sixth. 

Kotte,  Wm.  C. 

Krausse,  John,  Joseph  and  Catherine. 

Koch,  Wm.,  sr.,  island. 

Krecek,  Joseph,  wife  and  three  sons. 

Kroener,  Will. 

Kroener,  Sophie. 

Kroener,  Florie. 

Kuder,  Ed.  and  wife. 

Kuhl,  Aliss  Edna. 

Kuhn,  Mrs.  Oscar  and  children. 

Kuhnel,  Mrs.  H.  Clem  and  two  childJ-cn. 

Kupper,  Mr.,  between  Forty-second  and 
Forty-third  on  S. 

Kurpan,  Paul,  clerk  at  Star  mills,  and  wife, 
Thirteenth  and  N. 

Lackey,  Mrs.  Mary  B.,  and  four  daughters, 
Pearl,  lima  and  two  others  and  daughter- 
in-law.  Thirty-ninth  and  Sj^. 

Lanahan,  Laura. 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


527 


Lanahan,  four  children  of  John,  Twenty- 
ninth  and  B. 

Landrum,  B.  and  five  children,  Bolivar. 
Lane,  Rev.  and  family. 

Lane,  F.  and  family. 

Lang,  five  children  of  Peter. 

Labbatt,  H.  J.,  Sr.,  wife  and  daughter, 
Nellie. 

Labbatt,  Joe,  wife  and  four  children. 

Lafayette,  Mrs.  A.  C.  and  children. 

Lament,  Richard  P. 

La  Piere,  James,  wife  and  five  children, 
Forty-third  and  S. 

Larsen,  Ed.,  boatkeeper  of  pilot  boat 
Eclipse. 

Larson,  Charles  E. 

Larson,  H.  and  two  children. 

Lasoeco,  Mrs. 

Lashley,  Mrs.  Dave. 

Lauderdale,  Mrs.  Robert  and  two  daugh- 
ters, one  son  and  Mrs.  Lauderdale's 
mother. 

LaukhuflF,  Genevive. 

Lausen,  Mrs.  Will  and  one  child. 

Lausen,  Aug  and  three  children,  Thirty- 
ninth  and  avenue  S. 

La"wsing,  Mrs.,  mother  of  Mrs.J  .  W.  Munn, 
sr. 

La-wson,  Charles  E. ,  longshoreman. 

Leagett,  Mrs.  and  three  children,  nine  miles 
on  bay  shore  down  the  island. 

League,  three  children  of  Mrs.  Lillie. 

Leask,  Maury,  clerk  of  William  Burge, 
Colorado  addition. 

Leberman,  Lee  H.,  1426  N>^. 

Leberman,  Prof.  H.  A.  (missing),  1426  N>^. 

Ledtsch,  Theodore. 

Lee,  Captain  G.  A.  and  wife. 

Lees,  Mrs.  Elizabeth. 

Legat,  Mrs.  Celia  and  family  of  six,  addi- 
tion. 

Legate,  three  brothers,  down  the  island. 

Lehman,  Charles  and  son,  Forty-fifth  and  K. 

Lemire,  Joseph,  wife  and  four  children. 

Lemons,  Mrs.  Celestine  (colored),  Twenty- 
eighth  and  R. 

Lena,  Mrs. 

Lenker,  Tommy. 

Lennard,  Fred,  aged  4  years,  4512  K. 

Lenz,  August,  longshoreman. 

Leon, ,  butcher,  and  two  children,  avenue 

N,  between  Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth. 

Leonard,  Bernard. 

Leslie,  Miss  Gracie. 

Letterman,  W.,  wife  and  three  children. 

Letts,  Captain,  wife,  two  children,  sister-in- 
law  and  one  of  her  children,  Kinkead. 

Leutsch,  Theodore,  Thirtieth  and  K. 

Levine,  Mrs.  P.,  daughter  and  sons,  Leo 
and  Carroll. 

Levy.  W.  T.,  United  States  immigration 
inspector  and  late  major  of  First  United 


States  volunteer  regiment,  wife  and  three 
children. 

Le"wis,  Mrs.  Agnes  (colored) 

Lewis,  Miss  Agnes  (colored). 

Lewis,  Mrs.  C.  A.  (colored),  44th  and  R. 

Lewis,  Mrs.  Jake  and  six  children,  Forty- 
sixth  and  L. 

Lewis,  Mrs.  Maria  (colored). 

Lewis,  Elizabeth  Eunice,  1015  M>^. 

Lindgren,  John,  wife  and  seven  children 
(Miss  Lillie,  eldest  daughter,  saved). 

Lindquist,  Mrs.  Oscar  and  three  children. 

Lisbony,  W.  H.,  wife  and  son,  W.  H.,  jr. 

Lisbony,  Miss  Eunice,  daughter  of  C.  P. 
Lisbony. 

Livingston,  Mrs.  Frances.  Thirty-second 
and  R. 

Lloyd,  W. 

Lloyd,  "  Buck  "  and  wife. 

Lloyd,  Charles  H.,  wife  and  child. 

Lloyd,  S.  O.,  Twenty-seventh  and  P^. 

Locke,  Mrs.  Mary. 

Lockhart,  Charles,  Mrs.  and  two  children, 
Forty-second  and  S}4. 

Lockhart,  Albert. 

Lockmann,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H. 

Loesberg,  Miss  Minnie. 

Long,  two  children  of  Sergeant. 

Longnecker,  Mrs.  A. 

Lorance,  Mrs.  T.  A. 

Losico,  Mrs.  Fillimena,  daughter,  three 
grandchildren  and  son-in-law. 

Lord,  Richard. 

Lossing,  Mrs.  Sarah  A,  Fifty-second  and  S. 

Love,  R.  A.  (officer). 

Love,  Ed.  Grenn. 

Lucas,  Mrs.  William,  and  two  sons,  John, 
aged  16  years  and  9  months,  and  David 
Edward,  aged  13  years  and  9  months.  442S 
avenue  K,  wife  and  sons  of  William 
Lucas,  foreman  car  repair  shop  Galves- 
ton, Houston  and  Henderson  railway, 
who  was  on  a  vacation  in  Arkansas  at 
the  time  of  the  catastrophe. 

Lucas,  two  children  of  Mrs.  David,  4512  ave- 
nue K. 

Lucas,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.,  two  children  and 
white  nurse. 

Ludwig,  Alfred,  mother  and  sister-in-law. 

Ludeke,  Henry,  wife  and  son. 

Ludewig,  E.  A.  and  mother. 

Lud-wig,  Alt)ert. 

LukenbeU,  B.  E.  and  wife. 

Lumberg,  Willie  and  Lena,  down  the  island 

Lumburger,  Gus,  wife  and  nine  children. 
F^orty-third  and  S}i. 

Lundberg,  Gus. 

Ltmgren,  Gus. 

Luvis,  Mark  (colored),  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren. 

Lyle,  \V.  W. 

Lynch,  A. 


528' 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


Lynch,  Peter,  Forty-third  and  R. 

Lynch,  John. 

Lynch,  James  and  wife,  2616  Q. 

Macgill,  Unagh,  daughter  of  D.  Macgill. 
Mackey,  Mrs.  W.  G.  and  four  children  (col- 
ored),   M}4,    between    Thirteenth    and 

Fourteenth. 
Maclin,  John  and  family. 
Maclin,  J.  D.,  v/ife  and  seven  children. 
Machn,   W.    L.,   wife  and  three  children, 

down  the  island. 
Magill,  David,  Q,  between  Twenty-sixth  and 

Twenty-seventh. 
Malitz,  Theodore. 
Males,  O.  M.,  wife  and  two  children. 
Maltzberg-er,  Tony,  and  family. 
Manier,  Miss  Fisa. 
Manning,  Mark  (colored). 
Manly,  Joe,  mother  and  two  nieces  of  Mr. 

Manly,  Sr. 
Mansfield,  Caroline,  and  mother  (colored), 

Sixteenth,  between  N^  and  O. 
Marcotte,  Miss  Pauline. 
Marcovich,  Mat,  wife  and  three  children, 

Mud  bridge. 
Marquette,  Mrs.  Pauline. 
Marsh,  sergeant,  battery  O. 
Marshall,  Mrs.  Harry  K.,  Thirty-fifth  and  S. 
Mabson,  Grace  and  three  children  (colored), 

K,  between  Forty-fiftli  and  Forty-sixth. 
Martin,  Frank,  wife  and  one  son. 
Martin,  Miss  Annie. 
Martin,  Frank  and  one  son. 
Martyr,  Mrs.  R. 
Massie,  T.  A. 
Massie,  E.,  wife  and  child. 
Masterson,  Annie  Dallam,  wife'of,  Branch 

T.,  avenue  R  and  Thirty-ninth. 
Matthe-ws,  Harry  L. 
Mati,  Amedio. 
Maxwell,  Robert  and  Mary,  Twenty-eighth 

and  F}4. 
Maudy,  Mrs.  and  daughter  (colored),  M)4, 

between  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth. 
Maupin,  Jos.,  in  Kinkead  addition. 
McCamish,  R.  A.,  wife  and  two  daughters. 
McCann,  William,  wife  and  six  children. 
McCann,  Jas. 

McCarty,  Leon  L.  (colored). 
McCauley,  Prof.  J.  P.  and  wife,  Lucas  Ter- 
race. 
McCauley,  William  H.,  Mrs.  William  H., 

Eugene,  Annie  and  Dewey,  lost  at  Ciozza 

residence. 
McCaulley,  J.,  and  wife,  Thirty-fourth  and 

McCaughlar,  Iralia  (colored),  Twenty  sev- 
enth and  P. 

McCluskey,  Mrs.  Charles  and  three  cliil- 
dren. 

McCormick.  Mrs.  D.  and  four  children. 


McOuUough,  A.  Rallar  (colored). 
McOune,  John,  .Sixth  and  I. 
McDade,  Mrs.  E.  (colored). 
McDade,  Ed.  (colored). 
McDonald,  Jerry  (helper  Jones  dairy). 
McDonald,  Mrs.  Mary,  and  son. 
McDonald,  Mrs.  (widow),  Fourteenth,  be- 
tween L  and  M. 
McGoveren,  James. 
McEwen,  John,  island. 
McGill,  D.  K. 
McGowan,  Jim. 
McGraw,  Peter  and  wife. 
McQuire,  John. 

McKenna,  J.  P.,  wife  and  two  children. 
McKenna,  P.  J.,  and  two  children. 
McLean,  John,  bartender. 
McManus,  Mrs.  W.  H. 
McMillan,  Mrs.  M.  J. 
McMillan,  Mrs.,  Kinkead  addition. 
McNeal,  Mrs.  James  and  child. 
McNeil,  Hugh,  and   baby,  and  Miss  Jennie 

McNeil. 
McPeters,  wife  and  two  children. 
McPherson,  Robert  (colored). 
McVeigh,   Mrs.  J.   M.   and  Miss  Lorena, 

Forty-fourth  and  Broadway, 
Mead,  James,  Twelfth  and  I. 
Mealy,  Mrs.  John. 
Mealy,  Joseph. 
Mees,  W.  H.,  longshoreman. 
Megna,  Mrs.  G. 

Magna,  F.,  wife  and  two  children. 
Megna,  Mrs.  Joe,  Nineteenth  and  P. 
Megna,  one  child  of  Mike,  Nneteenth  and  P. 
Megnar,  Crocifisso. 
Mellor  (better  known  as  Miller),  Robert,  a 

butcher,  and  wife,  Twenty-seventh  and  O. 
Mellor,  M.  O.,  Twenty-seventh,  between   Q 

and  QK- 
Menzell,  John,  wife  and  five  children, 
Merick,   Eugene,   and   mother,   down    the 

island. 
Merick,  John,  wife  and  child  (milkman). 

down  the  island. 
Mestry,  Charlotte  (colored). 
Meyer,  Henry  and  four  children. 
Meyer,  Chris,  (missing). 
Meyer,  Tilden,  Forty-third  and  T}4- 
Middelegge,    Sophie,    mother    of   Eniest 

Middelegge. 
Middlegge,  Ernest  H.,  wife  and  three  sons, 

Harry,   aged   13;   Adolf,  aged   10,   and 

Robert,  aged  8. 
Midlegge,  August,  wife  and  five  children. 
Midlegge,  Aug. ,  sr.,  wife  and  three  children. 
Midlegge,  George,  wife  and  family. 
Middleburger,    George,    wife    and    three 

children. 
Middleburger,  John,  wife  and  three  chil 

dren. 
Migel,  Meyer. 


NAMeS  OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


629 


Mihal,  Mrs.  A.,  and  three  children 
Milan,  wife  and  four  children  of  J.  H. 
Miller,  Gus.,  wife  and  three  children,  Fifty- 
eighth  and  Broadway. 
Miller,  Frank,  oysterman. 
Miller,  Henry,  and  family,  Sydnor's  bayou. 
Miller,  Chas.  Mrs.,  and  six  children,   M^, 

between  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth. 
Miller,  Mr.,  wife  and  six  children,  Galve.ston 

island,  bay  shore. 
Miller,  W'm. ,  and  wife. 
Miller,  Mrs.  S. 

Miller,  Mrs.,  and  five  children  (colored). 
Miller,  E.  O.,  twenty-one  miles  down  the 

island. 
Millo,  Mrs.  Joe  and  two  children,  down  the 

island. 
Minnis,    Mrs.    W.   P.   (A.    S.    Minnis  from 

Chicago),  and  S.  A.  Minnis,  Forty-fifth 

and  Broadway. 
Minor,  Lucian. 

Mitchell,  Miss  Nola,  Thirty-ninth  and  Q)4. 
Mitchell,  Louis  D.  (colored). 
Mitchell,  Mrs.  Annie  and  son,  Twenty-sixth, 

between  Q  and  Q}^. 
MitcheU,    Mrs.    C' R,    W.  P.,  Jennie  E., 

Anna  and  P.  L. ,  Thirty-ninth  and  Q^^. 

Moflfatt, ,  wife  and  two  children. 

Monghan,  Mike  and  family. 

Monghan,  John  and  wife. 

Monroe,  (colored),  Mrs.  and  three  children, 

Moran,  James  and  wife. 

Moore,  Cecelia,  Loraine,  Vera  and  Mildred, 

children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Louis  Moore. 

Kinkead  addition. 
Moore,  Robert. 

Moore,  Miss  Maggie  (Seventeenth  and  Q}4. 
Moore,  Mrs.  Nathan  (colored). 
Moore,  Wm.  ("  Dock")  and  wife. 
Moore,  Mrs.  Nathan. 
Moore,  Alex.,  butcher. 
Moore,  Estelle  (colored). 
Monteleone,  Marie  Miss,  Hitchcock. 

Mores,  -^ ,  works  with  Joseph  Fachan. 

Morino. 

Morley,  Rev.  and  wife. 

Morley,  David,  and  wife. 

Moreo,  Dotto,  wife  and  seven  children. 

Morris,  Harry,  wife  and  four  children. 

Morseburger,  Antonia  and  wife. 

Morton,  Hammond  and  four  children. 

Morse,  Albert  P  ,  wife  and  three  children. 

Moserger, . 

Mott,  Mrs.  Louisa. 
Mott,  Mrs  B.  F.,  Sydnor's  bayou. 
Motter,  Mrs.  and  two  daughters. 
Mulcahey,  two  children  of  J.,  of  Houston. 
Muletz,  Theo.,  wife  and  daughter. 
Mulholland,    Mrs.    Louisa,    old    woman's 

home. 
Muller,  Henry,  wife  and  three  childen. 
Mulsberger,  Charles  and  family,  (butcher). 

34 


iVLulsburger,  Tony. 

Mtindine,  Mrs.  Meria  E. 

Munkennelt,  Frank,  longshoreman. 

Munn,  Mrs.  J.  W.,  sr. 

Mnrie,  Mrs.  Annie  and  daughter,  Laurine. 

Muti,  Amedeo,  killed  in  rescue  work. 

Myer,  Herman,  wife  and  son  Willie. 

Myers,  Willie. 

Myers,  Mrs.  C.  J.  and  one  child. 

Napoleon,  Henry,  wife  and  sister  (colored ) 

Neal,  a  fisherman. 

Necey,  Conrad,  wife  and  six  children.  Forty 

fourth  and  S. 
Neiman,  Charley. 
Neimann,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Dora. 
Neimeyer,  Henry,  wife  and  five  children. 
Neimeyer,  J.,  and  family  (farmer). 
Neil,  E. 

Nelson,  H.,  longshoreman. 
Nelson,    Mrs.    Alice    and    three  children 

Thirty-fifth  and  S. 
Nelson,    Mrs.    P.    F.   and  three  children 

Thirty-fifth  and  5. 
Nelson,  John  P. 
Nelson,  Mrs.  and  daughter. 
Nelson,  John  J.,  longshoreman. 
Neuwiller,  Wm.,  wife  and  three  children, 

Thirty  seventh  and  Q}4- 
Newell,  Sydney,  longshoreman. 
Nokis,  Nettie  May,  stepdaughter  of  Louis 

Gruetzmacher. 
Nolan,  Mrs. 

Nolley,  Mrs.  Sam  and  four  children. 
North,  Miss  Archie. 
Norton,  Mrs.  F.  S.,  and  son  Henry,  3507 

Avenue  Q. 
Norton,  Mrs.  and  two  children. 
Norwood,  Alberta  (colored).  Sixteenth,  be- 
tween M)4  and  N. 
Norwood,  Mrs.  Susie  (colored),  and  baby. 

Sixteenth,  between  MJ2  and  N. 
Nuel,  R.,  wife  and  children. 

Oakley,  F.,  shooting  gallery  man. 

Oats,  Charlotte  (colored). 

Oberg,  Hans. 

O'Connell,  Mrs. 

O'Connor,  Mamie. 

O'Dell,  Miss  Nellie. 

Ohlson,  Enfred,  1714  O. 

O'Donnell,  James  K.,  and  wife,  Thirty-thiic^ 
and  O. 

O'Dowd,  Zeta. 

Offe,  F.  and  family,  down  the  islancf. 

O'Harrow,  Wm. 

Ohlsen,  Mrs.  Adolph,  1714  O. 

O'Keefe,  C.  J.  and  wife. 

O'Neill,  James  and  Frank,  sons  of  James, 
orphans'  home. 

O'NeiU,  Lawrence,  son  of  James,  Thirty- 
fourth  and  p. 


530 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


O'Neill,  wife  and  five  children,  an  oyster- 
man,  with  four  hired  men. 

Olds,  Charlotte  (colored). 

Oleson,  Otto,  longshoreman. 

Olsen,  T.  H.,  wife  and  two  children. 

Olsen,  Ed. 

Olsen,  Mrs.  Matilda  and  two  children. 

Olsen,  Miss  Clara. 

Olsen,  Stephen  and  Charles. 

Olsen,  O  A.  (carpenter),  wife  and  three 
children. 

Opitz,  Anita. 

Oppe,  Fritz  (milkman). 

Oppermann,  Albert  L.  and  wife,  Ninth,  be- 
tween J  and  K. 

Opperman,  Miss  May  of  Palestine,  and 
Marguerite  and  Gussie  Opperman. 

Ormond,  five  children  of  George. 

Otterson,  A.  and  wife,  K,  between  Forty- 
fourth  and  Forty-fifth. 

Ostermayer,  sr.,  and  wife. 

Ostermayer,  Frist. 

Ostermayer,  Henry  and  wife. 

O'Shaug-hnessy,  Antoinette  Pauline,  1514 
Mechanic. 

O'Tolsee,  H.  E.,  longshoreman. 

Otterson,  Andy. 

One  Laborer,  at  Dr.  Fry's  dairy. 


Paisley,  A.  H.  and  wife,  6io>^  K. 

Palmieri,  Salvatore,  wife  and  five  children, 
Hitchcock. 

Parobich,  John,  wife  and  three  children, 
down  the  island. 

Parobich,  Michael,  wife  and  four  children, 
down  the  island 

Paetz,  Mrs.  Lina,  wife  of  Louis  Paetz,  teams- 
ter at  mills. 

Paisley,  Wm.  (colored). 

Palmer,  Mrs.  J.  B.  and  child. 

Park,  Mrs.  M.  L.,  and  Misses  Alice  and 
Lucy,  Twelfth  and  K. 

Parker,  Miss  Mary  E.,  1502  M. 

Parker,  Mrs.  Ethel. 

Parker,  Mrs.  Frank  and  two  children, 

Parker,  Sullivan,  wife  and  three  children. 

Pashetag,  Mrs.  E.  and  three  children, 
Louise,  Eddie  and  Gertrude — lost  at  La- 
marque. 

Paskall,  Augustine  and  wife,  Madeline, 
Galveston  island. 

Pasquale,  S. 

Paterson,  Miss  S.  (colored),  of  Houston. 

Patrick,  Maria  (colored).  Thirty-ninth,  be- 
tween N  and  N'/^. 

Patrick,  Ida  and  Cora  (colored). 

Patrick,  Mrs.  Susan  (colored).  Thirty-ninth 
and  N. 

Patterson,  H.  T.,  wife  and  children. 

Patterson,  Thompson  (carpenter),  and  wife 
and  four  children,  Thirty-first  and  Beach. 


Pattison,  Florence. 

Patton,  Thomas  (colored). 

Pauls,  Willie  and  Walder,  1708  N. 

Pavds,  Miss  Agnes,  S^,  between  Thirty -sixth 
and  Thirty-seventh. 

Panly,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

Paysee,  Mrs.  Henry  and  two  children 
(Leona  and  Louise). 

Peco,  Leon,  wife  and  four  children,  Walter, 
August,  Mary  and  Francis,  four  miles 
west  of  city. 

Pecco,  Lee. 

Peek,  Capt.  R.  H  ,  wife  and  six  children. 

Peetz,  Mrs.  J.  J.,  and  daughters,  Tillie  and 
Stella. 

Peitzlin,  Rudolph  and  Robbie. 

Pellenze,  Mrs.  and  mother. 

Penny,  Mrs.  A.  and  two  sons,  Forty-fourth 
and  S. 

Perkins,  Albert  (colored).  Thirty-second 
and  Qyi- 

Perkins,  Lucy  (colored). 

Perkins,  Lota  (colored). 

Perkins,  Mrs.  L.  and  two  children  (col- 
ored), 3601  Q)4. 

Perkins,  Alfred,  wife  and  grandson  (col- 
ored), Qyi,  between  Twenty  sixth  and 
Twenty-seventh . 

Perkins,  Arthur  (colored),  Thirty-second 
and  Qy2. 

Perrier,  H.,  wife  and  child,  Eighteenth,  be- 
tween Nyi  and  O. 

Perkins,  Cecile  (colored),  2820  R}4. 

Perry,  Mrs.  Harry  M.  and  son  Clayton. 

Perry,  Mrs.  and  child,  of  Houston. 

Perry,  Jasper,  jr.,  wife  and  two  children 
(colored). 

Perry,  Mrs.  Oliver  (colored). 

Peters,  Fritz  and  wife.  Twentieth  and  P^, 

Peters,  Robert,  Thirty-third  and  S. 

Peters,  Rudolph  (saddler),  Thirty-third 
and  S. 

Peterson,  George  (soldier),  wife  and  two 
children,  Forty-third  and  R. 

Peterson,  Charles,  wife  and  two  children. 

Peterson,  Mrs.  A.  and  four  children, 
Eighth  and  J. 

Peterson,  Mrs.  J.  and  children. 

Peterson,  H.  G.  and  two  boys,  lived  near 
race  track,  down  the  island. 

Petterson,  K.  G. ,  wife  and  child. 

Pettit,  Walter,  371 1  L.  " 

Pettit,  W.  R. 

PettinglU,  W. 

Pettingill,  W.  H.,  wife  and  three  sons, 
Walter  W.,  James  and  Norman  (miss- 
ing). Thirty-third  and  S. 

Phelps,  Miss  Ruth  M.,  Forty-first  and  S. 

Phelps,  Mrs.  Mamie  Love  and  two  children 
(colored),  down  the  island. 

Pierson,  Mrs.  Mary  and  Alice. 

Pierson,  Frank. 


NAMES   OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


531 


Pilford,  W.,  Mexican  cable  company,  and 
four  children,  Madge,  Willie,  Jack  and 
Georgianna,  Twenty-fifth  and  Q. 

Finer,  Mrs.  Ella  (colored). 

Piney,  Mrs.  (colored). 

Pinto,  Mrs.  Tony,  William  and  George, 
Offatt's  bayou. 

Pischos,,  Mr  and  Mrc,  country  road. 

Pisi,  C.  L. 

Pittel,  Mrs. 

Fix,  C.  S. 

Pizzolenza,  Mrs.  and  four  children,  Hitch- 
cock. 

Plitt,  Herman. 

Poland,  Ed.  and  sister. 

Folk,  Cornelius  and  Violet  (colored). 

Pond,  Miss  Mary. 

Popular,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  and  four  children, 
Agnes,  Mamie,  Clarence  and  Tony. 

Poree,  Henry. 

Poretto,  Josephyne. 

Potthoff,  Mrs.  C.  and  five  children,  Amelia, 
Annie,  Charles,  Robert  and  Mabel,  R., 
between  Thirty-fifth  and  Thirty-sixth. 

Potter,  C  H.,  and  little  daughter. 

Powell,  William  and  wife  Eva,  Forty-sixth 
and  K. 

Po-wers,  Mrs.  Carrie  B.,  151 1  avenue  N. 

Fo"wers, and  child. 

Powers,  Mrs ,  mother-in-law  of  A.  R.  G. 
Edwards. 

Praker,  J.,  wife  and  child. 

Praker,  William. 

Pratt,  Mrs.  Laura,  3602  T. 

Pratt,  Miss  Lillian  Desautch,  3602  T. 

Freismuth,  Mrs.  Fred  and  three  children. 

Pruessner,  Mrs.,  and  three  children 

Pruessner,  Heinrich,  down  the  island. 

Prophet,  Marie  (colored). 

Pryor,  Ed.,  wife  and  four  children.  Thirty- 
seventh  and  S. 

Quester,  Bessie. 

Questor.  Mrs.  M. ,  son  and  daughter. 
Quin,  Mrs.  Mary  and  child.  Eighth  and  L. 
Quinn,  Mrs.  Thomas,  Eighth  and  L. 
Quinn,  John,  engineer,  Sixth  and  H,  (miss- 
ing). 

Raab,  George  W.  and  wife. 
Radeker,  Mrs.  Herman  and  child. 
Radford,    Mattie    Eva    (colored),   Thirty- 
second  and  Q>2- 
Radford,  ClaudTe  G.  (colored). 
Radford,  John  A.  (colored). 
Raleig-h,  Miss  Lelia,  816  Winnie. 
Randolph,  Edith  (colored). 
Raphael,  Nick. 
Ravey,  family. 

Rayburn,  Crawford,  1624  M^. 
Ratisseau.  P.  A. 


Ratisseau,  Baptiste,  wife  and  three  chil- 
dren (Louis  saved). 
Ratisseau,  J.  B.,  wife  and  four  children. 
Ratisseau,  C.  A.,  wife  and  seven  children. 
Ratisseau,  Mrs.  W.  L.,  and  thieecliildren. 
Ratisseau,  Mrs.  J.  L.,  and  three  children. 
Rattisseau,   A.,  wife  and  three   children, 
S,  between  Forty-first  and  Forty-second. 
Ra"W,  Mr.,  at  Lafitte  grove. 
Ray,  Hy,  wife,  sister  and  three  children. 
Ray,  Miss  Susie. 

Reader, ,  family. 

Reads,   Rutter,  wife  and  children,   Forty- 
third  and  T. 
Reagan,  Mrs.  Pat  and  son.  Sixth  and  I. 
Reagan,  Mrs.  John  J.,  420  Center  street. 
Reagan,  John  P. 
Reagan,  J.  N. 

Regan,  Mike,  wife  and  mother  in-law. 
Reagan,  Mike. 

Reagan,  H.  J.,  wife  and  five  children,  Thirty- 
fifth  and  S'A. 
Re  m,  Wm.,  wife  and  two  children.  Tenth 
and  Eleventh  and  Myi. 

Rein, ,  wife  and  daughter,  Thirty-ninth 

and  R. 
Reinhart,  Agnes  and  Helen,  daughters  of 

John. 
Rehun,  Wm  ,  wife  and  two  children,  M}4, 

between  Eleventh  and  Twelfth. 
Reymanscott,  Louie,  Q,  between  Twenty- 
third  and  Twenty-fourth. 
Rhea,  Mrs.   M.  E.  and  daughter,  Mary,  of 

Buford,  Tenn. 
Rhine,  John,  wife  and  five  children,  Thirty- 
ninth  and  T. 
Rhine,  Frank  and  George,  Thirty-ninth,  be- 
tween R  and  Ryi- 
Rhodes,   Miss   Ella  of  Galveston,   trained 

nurse  in  John  Sealy  hospital. 
Rhodes,  Annie  (colored),  cook  of  Mrs.  W. 

T.  Sherwood. 
Rice,  William  J.  (of  Galveston  News)  and 

little  daughter  Mildred. 
Rice,  loa  and  Fisher  (colored). 
Richards,  F.    L ,    (officer),   wife  and  one 

child. 
Richaruderes,  Mrs.  Irene  and  baby. 
Richardson,  S.  W.  and  wife,  2304  Q. 
Richardson,  William  (colored). 
Richardson,  William  M.,  4413  Winnie. 
Ricke,  Tony  and  wife. 
Riesel,  Mrs.  Lulu  and  two  boys,  Ray  and 

Edna,  Kinkead  addition. 
RUey,  Mrs.  W.  and  two  children.  ' 

Riley,  Solomon  and  wife,  Sixteenth,  between 

N  and  N}i. 
Ripke,  Thomas  B.,  wife  and  four  children, 

2018  P'4. 
Ritchie,  Miss  Helena  A.,  Sixth  and  I. 
Ritter,  Mrs.  William  (Charley),  Twenty-first 
and  P 


532 


NAMES  OF  THB  VICTIMS. 


Rimmelin,  Edward  H  and  wife,  N,  between 
Twelfth  and  Tliirteenth. 

Ring,  J.,  proof  reader  Galveston  News,  and 
two  children. 

Riordan,  Thomas. 

Ripley,  Henry. 

Ritzier,  Mrs. 

Rizzi,  Domenick,  Tenth  and  M. 

Rhea,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Mamie  Rhea  of  Giles 
county,  Tenn. 

Rhymes,  Mr.  Thomas,  wife  and  two  children. 

Roach,  Annie. 

Roberts,  Herbert  M.,  yard  clerk  Galveston, 
Houston  and  Northern  railroad. 

Roberts,  John  T.,  watchman. 

Ivobbins.Mrs  H.  B.,  of  Smith's  Point,  vis- 
iting \V.  H.  Nelson. 

Roberts,  i  Shorty),  battery  O. 

Rochford,  Ben  and  wife.  Eleventh  and  A. 

Rodney,  Henrietta,  Thirty-ninth  and  R. 

Roemer,  C.  G.  and  wife.  Tenth  and  L. 

Roemer,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  A.  C. 

Hoehm,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  and  two  chil- 
dren. 

Roemer,  J.  C.  and  wife. 

Rogers,  Blanch  Donald,  niece  of  D.  B. 

Rohl,  John,  wife  and  five  children. 

Rohn,  Annie  (colored). 

Roper,  Mrs.  Eliza  (colored).  Eleventh  and  M. 

Rose,  Mrs.  Franklin. 

Rose,  John. 

Rose,  H.,  wife  and  children. 

Rose's,  (Mrs. )  baby. 

Roselli,  Mrs.  G . 

Roselli,  Angelica. 

Roselli,  Josephine. 

Roselli,  Sam. 

Roselli,  Francis. 

Rosenkranz,  Theresia. 

Rosi,  G  and  two  children. 

Ross,  nine-year-old  child  of  Mrs.  Ross  of 
Houston. 

Rosse,  Mrs.   L    and  three  children,  Nine- 
teenth and  P. 

Rosin,    Hernann,    wife   and   five    children, 
Hernann,  Willie,  John,  Fritz  and  Henry. 

Rossalle,  B.,  wife  and  three  children. 

Rossian,  John  and  wife,  down  the  island. 

Rossian,  five  brothers,  down  the  island. 

Roth,  Mrs.  Kate  and  three  children. 

Roudadaux,  Murray. 

Roudadoux,  Mrs.  F.  J.  and  two  children, 
Murray    and    Cecil,    and    sister-in-law, 
Louise  Roudadoux, 
Rowan,  Mrs.  John  and  three  children. 
Rowe,  Ada  and  Hattie  (colored). 
Ro'we,  Mrs.  and  three  children. 
Rowe,  George  (colored). 
Ryan,  Ada  and  infant  (colorec 
Rodger,  C  wife  and  child. 
Rudireker,  and  three  women. 
Ruenbuhl,  Johnnie,  lost  at  Lamarque. 


Ruther,  Robert,  wife  and  =Jx  children. 
Forty-third  and  T, 

Ruhter,  A. ,  molhci'  and  father. 

Ruhter,  Lena. 

Ruehrmond,  Prof.,  vAk  and  two  children. 

Rust,  Margaret,  Maude  and  Elvira;  all  chil- 
dren. 

Rutter,  Robert,  wife  and  six  children,  For- 
ty-third and  T. 

Ryals,  Charles,  four  children  of,  Myrtle, 
Wesley,  Harry  and  Msbel. 

Ryan,  Mrs.  Mary,  Kinkead  addition. 

Ryman,  George,  wife  and  daughter.  4405 

S/z. 

Sansor,  Ernest,  longshoreman. 

Sargeanfc,  Thos.,  arid  two  children,  Arthur 
and  Alice,  Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth 
and  avenue  M>^. 

Sarme,  Mrs.  George,  4513  K,  between  For- 
ty-fifth and  Forty  sixth  streets. 

Sawyer,  Dr.  John  B. 

Scarborough,  Harry,  a  fisherman. 

Schadermantle,  Maud. 

Schadermantle,  Randle. 

Schaf,  Mrs.,  and  three  children. 

Schalea,  Richard,  wife,  son  Frank,  Forty- 
third  and  1^2. 

Scheller,  Charles,  Mrs.,  and  four  children. 
Thirty-fifth  and  Q. 

Schierholz,  W.,  wife  and  five  children. 

Schilke,  Mrs.  Julius,  and  two  children,  Au- 
gust and  Albert. 

Schmidt,  Mrs  R.,  and  son  Richard,  P}4 
between  Twenty-sixth  and  Twenty-sev- 
enth. 

Schneider,  J.  F. ,  wife  and  six  children 
milkman,  down  the  island. 

Schneider,  Henry,  and  two  children. 

Schneider,  John,  wife  and  five  children. 

Schneider,  Mrs.  Hy.  sr. 

Schneider,  child  of  Hy.  jr. 

Schneider,  Caroline. 

Schoolfield, (colored). 

Schoolfield,  Isaac. 

Schrader,  Mary. 

Schroeder,  Mrs.  Louise,  and  two  children, 
Twenty-sixth  and  Q. 

Schroeder,  Mrs.  George  M.,  and  four  chil- 
dren. 

Sohuler,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles,  and  five 
ciiildren. 

Schuler,  Mrs.  A. 

Schutz,  Charles  and  Fred. 

Schultze,  Charles. 

Schumacher,  Annie. 

Schutte, ,  wife  and  two  children. 

Schuzte,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

Schw^arzbach,  cliild  of  Theo. 

Schwoebel,  George,  wife  and  daughter 
Lulu. 

Scofelia.  RTiss  Ida 


NAMES   OF   THE  VICTIMS. 


533 


Scott,  Hughie  (colored). 

Scott,  Annie  (colored). 

Scull,  Mrs.  Mary  (colored). 

Seaborn,  J    K. 

Seals,  Wallace  D.  (colored). 

Seals,  Sarah  N.  (colored). 

Sedge  wick,  child  of. 

Seibel,   Frederich,  sr.,  Thirty-seventh  and 
M/z- 

Seibel,  Mrs.  Julius. 

Seibel,  Lizzie. 

Seibel,  Mrs.  Jacob,  and  son  Julius. 

Seidenstricker,  John. 

Seidenstricker,  John  C,  1209  avenue  N. 

Siedenstricker,  John  N.,  lived  on  N.  be- 
tween Twelfth  and  Thirteenth. 

Seixas,  Miss  Lucille. 

Seixas,  Mrs.  C.  E. 

Seixas,  Armour  A. 

Seixas,  Ceciie. 

Segers  and  family. 

Severt,  John  and  wife. 

Shaper,  Henry,  wife  and  two  sons,  milk- 
man, down  the  island. 

Sharp,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

Sharp,  Miss  Annie. 

Sharper,    Henry,    wife  and  five  children, 
down  the  island. 

Shaw,  Frank. 

Shelrey,  Leon,  son  and  daughter  (colored). 

Sherman,  Albert,   (butcher,  better  known 
as  "  Yammer")- 

Shermer,  A. 

Sherwood,  Charles  L.,  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren. 

Sherwood,  Thomas,  wife  and  two  or  three 
children. 

Sherwood,  Chas.  Wm. ,  baby  seven  months 
old,  Eighth  and  I. 

Sherwood,    Charles,   avenue    N,   between 
Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth  streets. 

Shook  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert,  jr. 

Siebel,  O.  F.,jr. 

Sinne,  John,  Lizzie  and  one  child.   Forty- 
first  and  Broadway, 

Sinnett,  Maggie,  Twenty-seventh  and  Q. 

Sinnett,  E^ddie,  Twenty-seventh  and  Q. 

Sinpe,  Calvin,  and  daughter. 

Skarke,    Charles    F.,    son    of    Charles    J. 
Skarke,  in  Catholic  orphans'  home. 

Skelton,  Mrs.  Emma,  and  two  childeen. 

Slaughter,  Philip  (colored). 

Sliter,  J.  M  .  longshoreman. 

Smith,  S.iliie  (colored),  cook  for  Dr.  Per- 
kins. 

Smith,    Stella,    working    for    Mrs.    C.    H. 
Huglies. 

Smith,  Gertrude. 

Smith,   Mrs.  Wiley  (colored),  Thirty-third 
and  Q. 

Smith,  Miss  Ellen  and  child  (colored). 

Smith,  Miss  Mary. 


Smith,  Mrs.,  the  grandmother  of  the  Fore- 
mans. 

Smith,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  and  two  children, 
Lamarque,  Tex. 

Smith,  Charles  L.,  between  Twelfth  and 
Thirteenth  streets. 

Smith,  Prof.  E.  P.,  wife  and  five  children, 
Thirty-fifth  and  T. 

Smith,  Jacob. 

Smith,  Sam  (colored),  of  Olympia  theater. 

Sodich,  L. 

Solomon,  Frank,  jr. 

Solomon,  Mrs.  Frank. 

Solomon,  Herman. 

Solomon,  Lena. 

Solomon,  Julius. 

Solomon,  Mrs.  Julius. 

Sommer,  Ferdinand  and  wife,  Fifty-ninth 
and  beach. 

Sommer,  Mollie,  Sophie,  Annie,  Fifty  ninth 
and  beach. 

Sommer,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joe,  Fifty-ninth  and 
beach. 

Sommer,  Aline,  Fifty-ninth  and  beach. 

Somerville,  S.  B.  and  wife  (colored). 

Sourbien,  battery  O. 

Southwick,  Mrs.  J.  Sanford  and  child. 

Spaeter,  Mrs.  Fredericka. 

Spaeter,  Otilia. 

Spaidnig,  Joseph,  Sydnor's  bayou. 

Spanish  sailor,  steamship  Talesforo,  body 
buried  north  side  of  Sweetwater  lake ; 
marked  "sailor." 

Speck,  Captain. 

Spencer,  Stanley  G. 

Spriggs,  Mary. 

Stacker,  Miss  Sophie. 

Stacker,  Miss  Alfred. 

Stacker,  George. 

Stackpole,  Dr.  and  tamily. 

Stawinsky,  Ed.,  wife  and  son. 

Stayton,  Mrs.  Carrie  B.  (colored), 

Stedilng,  Harry,  wife  and  child. 

Steeb,  Julius,  wife  and  two  children. 

Steinbrink,  Frederick  W.  and  three  child- 
ren, 4209  S. 

Steinforth,    Mrs.    Emma,  Twentieth    and 

SteUman,  Lily. 

Stellma,n,  Robert,  wife  and  child. 

Stenzel,  wife  and  three  children. 

Stering,  O.  B. 

Stevens,  Frankie,  Leo,  Jerald  and  Edward, 

sons  of  T.  J. 
Stewart,  Robert  C. 
Stewart,  Miss  Lester. 
Stiglich,  Mamie. 
Stillmann,  Miss  Lily,  3207  K. 
Stillman,  Lillie,  down  the  island. 
Stockfleth,  wife  of  Peter,  and  six  children. 
Stousland,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joe. 
Stravo,  Nick,  wife  and  son  John. 


534 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


Strunk,  Wm.,  wife  a^ct  sfx  children,  Thirty- 

fourlli  and  R. 
Studley,  Mrs.   and  two  children,  Fortieth 

aiKl  R. 
Stub,  {iiiius,  wife  and  two  children. 
Sudden,  Clara  (colored). 
Sugar,  Mrs.  and  two  children. 
Sullivaiij  Mrs.  Martha  and  child,  R,  between 

Tliirty  first  and  Thirty  second. 
Sullivan,  Mrs.  J.  A.  and  son,  Thirty-second 

and  g'4. 
Summers,  Sarah. 
Summers,  Mrs.  M.  S.,  1012  K. 
Swan,  Aiiguste,  Thirty-seventh  and  Q. 
Sv7an,  George. 

Swan,  George,  wife  and  four  children. 
Swanson,  Mrs.  Martin. 
Swain,  Richard  D. 
Swain,  Mrs.  Mary,  avenue  I, between  Tenth 

and  Eleventh  streets. 
Sw^eigel,  George,  mother  and  sister. 
Swenson,  Mrs.  Mary,  K,  between  Eleventh 

and  Twelfth. 
Swickel,  Mrs.  Mary,  Miss  Kate  and  Miss 

May,  1902  Twenty-seventh  street. 
Symms,  two  children  of  H.  G. 

Tarpey,  Joseph. 

Tavinett,  Antonet. 

Taylor,  I\Irs.  (colored). 

Taylor,  Mrs.  J.  W.,  Forty-sixth  and  K. 

Taylor,  Calvin  (colored),  2314  Twenty- 
eighth. 

Taylor,  Sarah  (colored),  2314  Twenty- 
eighth. 

Taylor,  Costello  (colored),  2314  Twenty- 
eighth. 

Teaque,  Lavina  (colored),  and  three  child- 
ren. Twenty-seventh,  between  P_J^  and 

Q- 
Tenbusch,  George  and  John. 
Tenbush,     Steve    (butcher),     Forty-fourth 

and  R. 
Tentenberg,  Mrs.  A.  S.  and  child. 
Terrell,     Columbus,    carpenter,    wife     and 

three  children  ;  lived  at  41 17  S. 
Terrell,    Mrs.   Q.    V.,    and    four    children 

(colored),  N  and  Fifteenth. 
Tetze,  Emet. 
Thomas,  Pat,  and  eight  children,  T,  between 

Thirty  sixth  and  Thirty-seventh. 
Thomas,  Nowen  and  Nathaniel. 
Thomas,   Milton   (colored),  Eleventh    and 

M. 
Thomas,  Mr.   and   Mrs.  B.  W.,  and  three 

children. 
Thompson,  Thomas,  wife  and  four  child- 
ren. 

Thompson, ,  wife  and  three  children. 

Thomssen,  Mrs.  W.  D.  and  three  children, 

down  the  island 
Thurman.  Mrs.  (colored). 


Tian,  Mrs.  Clement  and  three  children. 

Tickle,  H.  J.,  wife  and  two  children. 

Tickle,  Mrs.  James,  sr. 

Tiggs,  Lavinia  and  daughter  (colored). 

Tillebach,  Mrs.  Charles  and  three  children. 

Tilsman,  Robert,  wife  and  five  children.  46 
Broadway. 

Tix,  Herman. 

Told,  Seihel,  sr.,  aged  76  years,  Thirty- 
seventh  and  M'/i. 

Tolomei,  Paul,  wife  and  two  children. 

Torr,  T.  C,  wife  and  five  children. 

Toothaker,  Mrs.  J.  E. 

Toothaker,  Miss  Etta. 

Tovrea,  Sam,  wife  and  four  children. 

Tozer,  Mrs.  G.  M. 

Tozer,  Miss  Berna,  Thirty-second  and  Q)4- 

Trahan,  Mrs.  H.  V.  and  child. 

Thread w^ay,  Lily. 

Threadwell,  Mrs.  J.  B.  and  child. 

Travers,  Mrs.  H.  C.  and  son  Sheldon. 

Trebosius,  Mrs  George. 

Trebosius,  Fred,  Thirty-first  and  S. 

Trickhausen,  Mrs.,  an  old  lady. 

Tripo,  an  oysterman. 

Tripo,  Bosick. 

Trostman,  E.,  wife  and  three  children. 

Tucker.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  and  one  child. 

Tuckett,  Walter,  wife  and  child,  Q  and 
Twenty-seventh. 

Turner,  Angeline  (colored.) 

Turner,  Mrs.  K.  and  little  girl. 

Turner,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

Turner,  Mrs.  W. 

Udell,   Oliver,  wife    and    child,  Forty-fifth 

and  U. 
Uhl,  Mrs.  Chris  and  four  children.  Forty-fifth 

and  K. 
Underbill,  Carpenter,  and  wife,  two  weeks 

from  El  Paso,  formerly  from  Michigan. 
Unger,  E. ,  wife  and  four  children  (Frank, 

Eddie  and  Sophie  saved).  Forty-fifth  and 

Broadway. 
Uitt,  Mary,  of  Houston. 
Ulridge,  Adelaide  (colored). 

Valeton,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Marie,  lost  at 
Giozza  residence. 

Vamey,  Mrs.  B.  (colored). 

Van  Buren,  Herman,  wife  and  three  chiT 
dren. 

Van  Liew,  Mollie  (colored). 

Varnell,  Jim,  wife  and  six  children,  Kinkead 
addition. 

Vassenroot,  Edward,  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren. 

Vaughn,  Miss  May,  Eleventh  and  Mechanic, 

Vaught,  Edna,  child  of  W.  J.  Vanght. 

Velin,  Mrs.  H. 

Vidovich,  Mike. 


NAMES  OF  THE  VICTIMS. 


535 


yining-,  Mrs.  Annie  and  four  children  (col- 
ored). 

Vinnie,  Miss  Annie  (colored). 

Visco,  Franovich. 

Viscovitch,  Magdalena,  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Veleda  Viscovitch,  N>2  and  Seventeenth. 

Vitoretta,  Mrs.  N.  L.,  Twenty-seventh  and 

Vitovitch,  John  and  family. 

Vogel,  Mrs.  Henry  C,  and  three  children. 

Vogel,  Mrs.  and  daughter  Bertha,  Twenty- 
seventh  and  P. 

Volger,  Mrs.  F.,  and  daughter,  Bertha. 

Vordenbaumen,  Mrs.  and  children. 

Vuletuch,  Andrew,  wife  and  daughter,  down 
the  island. 

Wade,  Mrs.  Hillie  (^colored),  Forty-eighth 
and  G. 

"Wade,  wife  and  two  children,  down  the 
island. 

Wade,  Hettie  and  husband  (colored). 

Wagner, ,  and  wife  (farmer). 

Wakelee,  Mrs.  David 

Walden,  Sam,  son  of  H.  W.  (colored). 

Waldgren,  Mr. 

Wallace,  Scott  and  Earl. 

Wallace, ,  and  wife  (Mud  bridge). 

Wallace,  George,  wife,  mother  and  child- 
ren, Berth,  Tom,  Fred  and  Florence, 
4017  T>^, 

Wallace, ,    wife     and    four    children 

Thirty-seventh  and  M>^. 

Walker,  Mrs.  H.  V. 

Walker,  Louis  D.,  R  and  Thirty-ninth. 

Walker,  Joe. 

Wallis,  Lee,  wife,  mother,  four  children, 
and  Pearl  Ellison,  all  of  Palestine. 

Walter,  Mrs.  Charles  and  three  children. 

Walsh,  James  N.  and  wife. 

Walsh,  Joseph,  wife  and  child. 

Walters,  Gus,  3602  Qyi. 

Waring,  Mrs.  (colored). 

Warnke,.  Mr.  and  Mrs. ,  and  children,  Forty- 
first  and  S. 

Warner,  Mrs.  A.  S. 

Warner,  Mrs.  Flora. 

Wanrke,  Mrs.  A.  W.  and  five  children, 

Warrah,  Martin. 

'Warren,  CeHa  (colored). 

Warren,  James,  wife  and  six  children. 

Warren,  John. 

Warwarvosky,  Adolph,  mother  and  sister. 

Washington,  John  and  five  children,  Forty- 
sixth  and  T. 

Washington,  Mrs.  (colored). 

Washington,  William  and  wife  (colored), 
alley,  P  and  P)4.  Twenty  sixth  and 
Twenty-seventh . 

Watkins,  Mrs,  (mother  of  Stanly  Watkins). 

Watkins,  child  of  P. 

Watkins,  Mr.  S. 


Watson,  J.  G.,   Mrs.,  and   two    children, 

Forty-third  and  T. 
Waxmouth,  Frank. 
Weber,  Mrs.  Charles  P. 
Webber,  Mrs.  Anna. 
Webber,  Mr.  S.  and  family. 
Weber,  \V.  J.,  wife  and  two  children. 
Webster,  ]\Ir.  Edward,  sr. 
Webster,  Charley. 
Webster,  Julia. 
Webster,  Sarah. 
Webster,  George. 
Webster,  Kenneth. 
Weeden,  L.  E.,  wife  and  six  children.  Kin- 

kead  addition. 
Weeks,  Mrs.   Millie    '.'id    child    (colored), 

down  the  island. 
Weideman,  F-  W.  and  wife. 
Weihousen,  Mrs.  Minnie,  3413  F}i. 
Weiman,  Mrs.  John  C. 
Weinberg,  Fritz. 
Weinberg,  Mrs.  F.  A. 
Weinberg,  Otto,  wife  and  five  dhiidren. 
Weiners,  daughter  of  J.  C,  2602  F'/i,  died 

of  injuries. 
Weiser,  Paul,  wife  and  mother,  K,  between 

Forty-fifth  and  Forty-sixth. 
Weiss,  Oscar,  wife  and  five  children. 
Weiss,  Prof.  Carl. 
Weit,  Mr.  and  three  children. 
Welche,  Mrs.  John. 

Welsh,  Theophiel,  in  charge  of  race  track. 
Wendemann,  Mrs. 
Westaway,  Mrs.  George. 
Westerman,  Mrs  A. 
Westman,  l\Irs. 
Weyer,  Judge  and  wife. 
Weyer,  Alex. 
Weyer,  Hy. 
Weyer,  John. 
Wharton. 
Whitconab,  Mrs.  Georgia,  and  baby  of  nine 

months. 
White,  Willie  (colored). 
White,  family  of  Walter. 
White,  James,  wife  and  baby. 
Whittle,  Tom,  baker  at  Kahn's. 
Whittlesey,   one  child  of   Officer    H.   P 

Whittlesey. 
Wicke,  Lena,  Mrs.,  Twenty-eighth  and  Q>^. 
Wiede,   Mrs    Augusta    and  five  children, 

2824  avenue  P. 
Wiedemann,  F. 
Wilke,  CO.,  wife  and  child. 
Wilcox,  child  of, 

Wilde,  Miss  Freda,  down  the  island. 
Wilkinson,  George,  wife  and  son.  Thirty- 
seventh  and  R. 

Wilks, and  wife. 

Williams,  Caesar  (colored),  forty-fifth  and  P. 
Williams,  Ed.  "Crow.") 
Williams,  Mrs.  Adaline  (colored). 


536 


NAMES  OF  THH  VICTIMS. 


Williams,  Mrs.  Cecil  (colored). 

Williams,  father  of  Frances  (colored). 

Williams,  Mary,  Mrs.,  Twenty-ninth  and  L. 

Williams,    Rosanna   (colored),   F'orty-first 
and  S. 

Williams,  Miss. 

Williams,  Alex. 

Williams,  Mrs.  E.  C.  (colored). 

Williams,  Joseph   N.,  .between  Sixteenth 
and  Seventeenth. 

Williams,   Frank,    wife  and  child.  Heard 
lane. 

Williams,  Sam  (colored). 

Williams,  Bob  (colored). 

Williams,  John,  Fortieth  and  R}4- 

Williams,  Mrs.  (mother  of  Mrs.  Joe  Jay). 

Williamson,  W  ,  longshoreman. 

Winifred,   Mrs.    Elmira,   mother-in-law  of 
Louis  Gruetzmacher 

Willis,  Hester,  and  daughter  (colored). 

Wilson,  Mrs.  Julia  Ann  (colored),  2317  ave- 
nue P. 

Wilson,  Annie. 

Wilson,  Ben  T. 

Wilson,  Mrs.  Julia  Ann  (colored),  P  between 
Twenty-sixth  and  Twenty-seventh. 

Wilson,  Mary  and  child. 

Wilson,  Bertha  (colored). 

Wilson',  Mrs.  B. 

Winscoath,  Mrs.  Annie. 

Winscoatte,  Mrs.  W.  B. 

Winscott,  Mrs.  William. 

Windman,  Mrs. 

Winn,  Mrs.  and  child. 

Winsmore,  James  and  family,  seven  mem- 
bers. 

Withee,  N.  H.  and  wife. 

Withey,  H. 

Witt,  C.  F.,  wife  and  two  children. 

Wolfe,  Chas. ,  wife  and  two  children. 

Wolfe,  Officer   Charles,  wife   and  son,  Ed- 
ward. 

Wolfe,  Mrs.  Louis  and  child  (recently  from 
Florida). 

Wolthers,   F.  A.,  wife  and  child,   Thirty- 
sixth  and  Q}4. 

Wood,  Mrs.  S.  W.,  mother  of  United  States 
Marshall  Wood. 

Wood,  Mrs.  R.  N.,  between  Fourteenth  and 
Fifteenth  (colored). 

Wood,  Edie  ahd  Burley  (colored). 

■^^ood,  Wm.  (colored). 

Wood,  Mrs.  S.  W. 

Wood,  Mrs.  Caroline  and  two  daughters, 
Mary  and  Katie. 

Wood,  Mrs.  Julia  (colored),  Twenty-eighth 

and  Q>^. 
Wood,  James  Horace. 
Woodmanme,  Miss  (of  Joliet,  111.). 


Woodrow,  Matilda  (colored). 
Woodward,   Mrs.    R.    L.  and  daughters. ' 

Miss   MoUie  Parker  and  Misses  Hattie 

and  Maggie  Woodward,  Fifteenth  and 

M. 
Woodward,  E.  G.,  jr.,  Eleventh  and  M. 
WooUam,  C 
Wootun,   Gus,   wife    and    three   cliildren, 

Forty-fifth  and  J. 
Wrig-ht,  Louise  and  Johnnie. 
Wuchnach,  M.,  wife  and  two  children. 
Wurzlow,  Mrs.    Annie,  Twenty-sixth  an( 

Q. 

Yeates,  child  of  J.  K. 

Yeager,  William. 

Youens,  Hy.  Geo. ,  5  years. 

Youens,  Miss  Lillian,  20  years. 

Young,  Francis. 

Young',  Ferdinand. 

Young,  Mrs.  Mary,  of  Lamarque. 

Young,  Mrs.  Paul,  Lamarque,  Tex. 

Young,  Mrs. ,  two  daughters  and  one 

son,  Lamarque,  Tex. 

Youngblood,  L.  J.,  wife  and  child. 

Younger,  Evelina  (colored),  and  two  chil- 
dren. 

Zickler,  Mrs.  Fred  and  two  children. 

Zipp,  Mrs.  and  daughter. 

Zurpanin,  Mrs.  N.  and  eight  children. 

Zwanzig,  Adolph,  sr. 

Zw^anzig,  Richard. 

Zwanzig,  Herman. 

Zwanzig,  three  daughters  of  Adolph. 

Zweigel,  Mrs.  and  two  daughters. 


Templars  of  Honor  and  Temperance. 

To  the  News  :  The  Templars  of  Honor  and 
Temperance  sustained  the  loss  of  nine  of  its 
members  during  the  late  storm  in  our  city, 
as  follows : 

Thomas  Keats. 
Harry  A.  Drewa. 
H.  Vanburen. 
P.  Wiedemann. 
A.  Shermer. 
A.  Dahlgreen. 
Joe  Jewel. 
Asa  P.  Delano. 
Robt.  Harris. 

The  latter  two  were  members  of  Tempk 
No.  33,  the  others  of  Temple  No.  31. 

H.  A.  Russell. 


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